June 20, 2013

Politics

Romney: Teacher unions are working for themselves, not students

BY: JOEL GEHRKE SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 | 12:05 PM | MODIFIED: SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 AT 12:15 PM
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Photo - A large group of public school teachers marches past John Marshall Metropolitan High School on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 in West Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
A large group of public school teachers marches past John Marshall Metropolitan High School on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 in West Chicago. Teachers walked off the job Monday for the first time in 25 years over issues that include pay raises, classroom conditions, job security and teacher evaluations. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

Mitt Romney said that teacher unions work for their own self-interest rather than the well-being of the students in their school, a problem exacerbated by their political clout.

“The union has a different constituency than the parents have,” Romney said at the Education Nation 2012 Summit in New York City. “We simply can’t have a setting where the teachers unions are able to contribute tens of millions of dollars to the campaigns of politicians and then the politicians when they’re elected sit across the table [during contract negotiations].”

Romney made these comments in response to a New York City parent who cited a poll indicating that parents supported the local teacher union as n organization fighting for students.

I don’t believe it for a minute,” Romney replied. “I do know something about polls,” he said to laughter from the audience, “and I know you can asks questions to get pretty much any answer that you want.”

 

 

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