President of the National Education Association, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, just announced that the nation’s biggest labor union will endorse Hillary Clinton for President. In a statement she says:
“Clinton is a strong leader who will do what is best for America’s students. For more than four decades, Clinton has fought to make sure all children have a fair opportunity to succeed regardless of their ZIP code. Clinton will continue to advocate on behalf of students, educators and working families because she understands the road to a stronger U.S. economy starts in America’s public schools.”
This is a BIG DEAL! With Bernie Sander’s supporters touting that he is “for the people,” getting this endorsement is is a big deal for Secretary Clinton.
The NEA site lists some of the work that Hillary has done, which shows why they have endorsed her. The site says:
“Clinton has a long history of fighting to close the opportunity gaps for America’s schoolchildren. She advocated for Title I equity resources and for fully funding the federal portion of special education. She led efforts to pass an amendment to increase federal IDEA funding by $4 billion, which helped students with special needs. Hillary recently proposed a plan to help undergraduates pay tuition at public colleges without needing loans. This plan would combine state grants that guarantee students would not have to take out loans to cover tuition at four-year public colleges and universities.”
As the sister of a public school teacher, I understand how complex the issue of education is and how hard the fight can be. I am glad the NEA is choosing to side with Hillary on this issue, because this problem is critical. Teachers are STILL not getting paid enough, and too many of our kids are falling behind. This is a vital issue, yet many people are not talking about it. Hillary Clinton is a fighter on this topic and has been for decades. So, while this endorsement isn’t a big surprise, it is still good news for her campaign.
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