AFT’s Weingarten Delivers Speech at Democratic National Convention

CHICAGO - AFT President Randi Weingarten addressed Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention, emphasizing the union's strong support for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and laying out the stakes of the election. The full text of her speech is below:

I'm Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, and I am a public school teacher.

One of the first lessons I taught my students was about the social contract-how both individual freedoms and mutual responsibility are essential in our democracy. This covenant underlies our commitment to public schools, where educators prepare students to spark innovations, steward the environment, create our arts and shape our democracy.

One of the first lessons my students taught me is that you have to walk the walk. That means Donald Trump and JD Vance can't claim they're pro-child while gutting funding for public schools. It means being pro-family is supporting access to good union jobs and affordable housing, healthcare and higher education.

That's what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are fighting for, and we are all in. They have spent their lives making the promise of America real, in the classroom and the courtroom.

America, with Kamala Harris as our president, our best days are ahead!

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The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.