AFT President Weingarten to Speak at Women Workers Rising Rally

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten is scheduled to speak Wednesday, March 8, at the Women Workers Rising rally in Washington, D.C. She issued this statement in advance of the rally:

“The women’s events around the country continue the remarkable momentum and emerging movement sparked by the Jan. 21 women’s marches. The Women Workers Rising rally is a way to recognize and value the contributions of women throughout society, recognize the obstacles impeding progress and empower people to double down on the fight against injustice. Sadly, the march toward progress has been stalled by the Trump administration. We will do everything in our power to ensure that President Trump, his top aides and his Cabinet members don’t rob kids of great neighborhood public schools, patients of quality healthcare, workers of a pathway to a living wage, and all of us of a voice. This day will help people think about how to create power, individually or collectively. We can no longer allow injustice, inequality and discrimination to hold back opportunities for women.

“As to whether women should go to work or not, that’s an individual decision. It’s a moment of conscience, not one that the AFT has weighed in on. This is not a strike in the traditional sense of the word.”

Weingarten is expected to speak at the rally sometime after 4:30 p.m.

The AFT’s ShareMyLesson.com, a free lesson plan and classroom resource sharing site, has a women’s issues collection for educators, available at: https://sharemylesson.com/collections/womens-history-month.