Teachers Union President Brags About Pushing Walker Recall in Schools

Anyone who claims that teachers unions exist to improve public education is misinformed or lying.

The unions have become blatantly political organizations that spend most of their time and resources trying to maintain their domination of public schools and school budgets. When an occassional reformer, like Wisconsion Gov. Scott Walker, comes along and questions their self-serving agendas, they turn into political assasination machines.

And they are not ashamed to use taxpayer-funded schools to push their agendas.

The latest evidence comes from Milwaukee Teachers Education Association President Bob Peterson, who boasted this week about his union’s efforts to sway voters, including high school students, to recall Walker in today’s election.

We are, as a union, making some changes. We’re talking about reinventing ourselves and one of the things we’ve done this year is put full effort into changing the political process. … We got the district to pass out flyers to every K-8 student – the backpack flyer – to go home that says ‘go vote.’ We have teachers that organized buses at schools to bring parents out, high school students out. And finally, for the next 48 hours, that’s what we’re going to be doing – just get out to vote.

While the message “go vote” may seem innocent enough, everyone knows what Peterson and his union are talking about. They have blatantly campaigned for Walker’s removal for months, and are perfectly aware that Milwaukee has millions of registered voters who identify with the Democratic Party. A big turnout in Milwaukee could play a major role in the outcome of the recall election.

If Milwaukee were awash with pro-Walker Republicans, there would be no union effort to get out the vote.

None of this should be surprising. Peterson and his union hate Act 10, Walker’s legislation that allows cash-strapped school boards to rein in runaway labor costs and spend more money on students without union permission. Before Act 10, schools were forced to make budget cuts that hurt students, because local unions refused to make financial concessions to help schools maintain basic services. 

And union political activism goes far beyond the Walker recall. Peterson represents a growing sector of union leaders who believe they can – and must – shift culture leftward through government schools. And he wants to indoctrinated students into believing unions and big government will save America. He has previously been quoted as saying:

If teacher unions want to be strong and well supported, it is essential that they not only be teacher unionists, but teachers of unionism. We need to create a generation of students who support teachers and the movement for workers rights, oppressed peoples’ rights. That’s our responsibility.

In an EAGnews exclusive video late last year, unrepentant domestic terrorist and Marxist Bill Ayers beamed when he told a Milwaukee crowd that Peterson had solicited his help in running for the union presidency. Ayers hosted a fundraiser at his Hyde Park home in Chicago for Peterson.

Progressives believe it is their right to use government schools to push their personal political agenda. It doesn’t bother them one iota to use taxpayer-funded schools to recall a governor. Will the union’s efforts to indoctrinate our kids against free markets and reformist public officials like Scott Walker prevail? We’ll know very soon.