On Monday, the nation’s largest teachers union will vote at its annual convention here in Obama’s home town on a proposal to endorse his reelection. Stern came to Chicago to vote no.
Her frustrations echo those of many in the National Education Association, who chafe at the president’s support of public charter schools, which compete with traditional public schools, and policies that link teacher tenure and pay in part to growth in student test scores.
These rank-and-file skeptics of Obama, who ordinarily would be eager foot soldiers in a Democratic presidential campaign, acknowledge that the president helped steer tens of billions of dollars to schools after the 2008 financial crisis to prevent teacher layoffs. But they say they are turned off by an administration agenda on school reform that often wins praise from influential Republicans.
Vice President Biden acknowledged their grievances in a speech to the convention Sunday and pledged that Obama would work for the middle class and organized labor.
“We will fight alongside you, we will fight for you and occasionally, in the privacy of the family, we’ll fight with you,” Biden said. “But this is about the same fundamental vision for this country.”
Union leaders said the endorsement is likely to pass, and even some teachers who are highly critical of the president said they would, with reluctance, vote for Obama next year. But in politics, enthusiasm matters. It is an open question how much energy teachers will devote to Obama’s reelection if they have mixed feelings about his record. For that reason, the NEA convention may be telling.
Despite the army of blue T-shirts proclaiming “United We Stand, Divided We Fall” on display here at the McCormick Convention Center, the endorsement question has fractured the 3.2 million-member union.
Debate began as soon as the union’s leadership recommended the endorsement in May. Protests erupted on teacher blogs and in faculty rooms. Some local affiliates, including the one in Baltimore County, took a stand against it. An 800-member policy council of the California Teachers Association narrowly opposed the endorsement in a nonbinding vote in advance of the convention.
Dean Vogel, president of the California affiliate, said the vote reflected disappointment and anger with the Education Department more than how teachers feel about the president.
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