Gary Pearce
One of North Carolina’s most enduring political alliances – teachers and the Democratic Party – is being tested by today’s debate over reopening schools.
The ties, which go back decades, have been strained before, and survived. But this may be the toughest test.
I was surprised recently when three Democrats, in separate conversations, complained about the “teachers’ union” resisting reopening schools. The N.C. Association of Educators isn’t a union; that’s prohibited by state law. And “teachers’ union” is a term you usually hear from Republicans — never as a term of endearment.
The NCAE supported Gov. Roy Cooper and Democratic legislative candidates in 2016, 2018 and 2020. Teachers marched on Raleigh to protest what they considered meager pay raises from the Republican General Assembly.