AFT
Reopening schools has been one of the most contested issues of the COVID-19 era, and few have been happy with the pace – parent, teacher or student. One person who thought New York City has tackled it correctly is Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers. Unlike some national labor figures, Weingarten remains influential among local education unions in New York, where she headed the United Federation of Teachers from 1998 to 2009.
7. John Samuelsen
International President, Transport Workers Union
As international president of the Transport Workers Union, John Samuelsen represents 150,000 transit workers, including 41,000 at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, his former employer whose tracks stretch from New York City to Poughkeepsie and Montauk. After a $3.9 billion bailout in March 2020, the MTA is receiving another $6 billion in aid via the American Rescue Plan, sidestepping once again the looming jobs catastrophe caused by the pandem
Loading the player.
There is an economic hemorrhaging globally but particularly here in the United States of America. The recession is evident as COVID-19 continues to ravage the purse strings of U.S. businesses to the personal pocketbooks of American citizens.
But the Biden White House is working to stave off further hurt by focusing on homegrown manufactured products and the union workforce.
“The future is Made in America” is a hallmark of President Joe Biden‘s cluster of executive orders to prevent businesses from closing in this season of the pandemic. According to White House officials,
Build Back Better begins at home.