God Bless Randi Weingarten

Lord knows I've had my disagreements with Randi Weingarten in the past - good faith disagreements, yes, but strong disagreements nonetheless.

Let me be among the first to say, however, that this took a lot of guts:

Randi Weingarten and other protestors were arrested and hauled off in handcuffs while demonstrating against school closings in Philadelphia. Neither the Mayor nor the School Reform Commission was willing to meet with Weingarten.

After her release from custody, said the article in the Huffington Post,

“Weingarten said she sees the school closure plan as siphoning money away from public schools, since the plan doesn’t touch charter schools. “This was really a plan to eliminate public education,” Weingarten said. “This is not about how to fix public schools, but to close them — not how to stabilize but to destabilize public schooling.”

“Weingarten called the closings immoral. “When the powers that be ignore you and dismiss you, then you don’t have any choice but try to resort to civil disobedience to try to confront an immoral act,” she said.

“So she joined parents and union activists to form a group of 19 people who blocked the entrance to the meeting. She said she intentionally told Philly teachers not to join, lest they lose their teaching certification, and discouraged parents who are undocumented immigrants from participating.”

Some of you might think this is a publicity stunt, but I don't. Anyone who puts themselves on the wrong side of the law because she is standing up for a principle deserves respect. Going to jail is not fun, and given the capricious nature of our current judicial system, the penalties for Weingarten could be harsh.

You and I may disagree about the Newark contract, Randi, but my hat is off to you. You are a real champion for teachers and for the labor movement.

ADDING: What is happening to the Philadelphia teachers is beyond disgusting. Any country that treats its educators this way ought to hang its head in shame. More in a bit...