randi weingarten, 90% of your union members, maybe i said 89, i'm not sure where the difference lies,eel about their colleagues who are still opposed to mandates >> so let me just say three things really quickly, andrea, and thank you for having me on number one, that the overwhelming number of teachers want, frankly, a vaccine mandate because they believe that it is good in terms of helping not only themselves but their communities, their kids, their grandkids, and the kids that we serve. and in fact, the aft, who's always been pro-vaccine, actually said this we would work with -- and you know this -- not oppose our employers on these vaccine requirements when we saw what was going on with the delta variant. we believe in terms of new york city that our membership is actually up to about 97% that's what our local leader believes, but the issue here in new york is not a policy the issue is the implementation of it. part of any kind of vaccin policy, you have to have exemptions for sincere religious beliefs, and you have to have exemptions for medical issues. and what happened is that

randi weingarten who is the head of the american federation of teachers who has a strong academic background which is a minor part of it, but strongly trained in the union, and that is just a part of it so they are largely running the organization. if you took in the money they take in annually and the unions take in, and they would be in the top quartile of the fortune 500, and this is huge massive organizations. i don't see a lot of the influence of organized crime. we will go into some of that in shadow bosses in the book, and if there is any, and i don't know if there is any going into the detail, because i am not sure, but the traditional unions like the teamsters are now going into government employees, because that is the growth area, and they know if they are going to continue to grow and take in lots of dues, they have to go into the government, representing government employees, and they are fighting over it, too. >> we have time for one more question. >> yes, sir? >> rob with the heritage foundation. >> and congratulations on the new appointment. >> thank you. >> do you -- are you

we need a full look at the data. >> and, randi weingarten, are you getting a lot of pushback from teachers to these mask mandates and some of the vaccine mandates? >> no. so we're not getting -- we're getting virtually no pushback on the mask mandates from teachers. we have some parents who are concerned, as you know, i'm an asthmatic, i understand that concern about breathing, but we have to keep people safe. but we are getting some pushback because people are scared about the vaccines or because they're so new. but overwhelmingly teachers have been vaccinated and overwhelmingly teachers want to make sure that people who are with them are vaccinated. >> thank you both so much, for the first day of school for a lot of kids, although some kids have been in for a week or two. these are some of the big ones like new york city, so thanks a lot. >>> the u.n. today accusing the taliban of breaking its promise for equal rights for women, calling it a new and perilous phase. a live report from richard engel back in kabul. >>> and secretary of state antony blinken hits the hill for the first of two

randi weingarten, we appreciate the work you're doing. you for joining us. >> thanks so much. >>> just minutes from now, the president's top military advisers will face a second day of tough questions from lawmakers about what went wrong with the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. this time before a house committee. we'll break down how they contradicted president biden in their first day of testimony. >>> we are also just moments away from the opening bell on wall street, stock futures are up, despite sharp declines yesterday. the nasdaq had its worst day since march, partly fueled by the fed chair's testimony that inflation was larger than anticipated. investors really keeping a close eye on capitol hill as they wait to see whether democrats can avoid a government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. hey, dad! hey, son! no dad, it's a video call. you got to move the phone in front of you like..like it's a mirror, dad. you know? alright, okay. how's that? is that how you hold a mirror? [ding] power e*trade gives you an award-winning mobil

. >> randi weingarten who is one of the heads of the teachers union that we want kids back in school but watch. >> the way back and to stay back is through being safe and that is a combination of vaccines and masking and ventilation and distancing and having a good outbreak control process. laura: distancing, masking in schools all the things they pushed and shoved over the last year and a half. is there any real indication that that is saving lots of lives among young people are vaccinated teachers now? >> the evidence means week that nonpharmacologic non-vaccine methods do that much. we haven't had convincing evidence. the real bottom line is people have a lot of fear, they want to manage that fiercer they use these methods to think they are doing something give them some safety and that is a psychological problem by fear mongering forced upon the country and the world. we get to that fear we get on with doing things that matter. laura: have a great weekend. the republican senators now trying to sabotage house republicans to help themselves or help president biden. congressman jim

. >> randi weingarten who is one of the heads of the teachers unions said, we want kids back in schoolbut watch. >> the way back into stay back is through being safe, which is a combination of vaccines and masking and ventilation and frankly, the distancing and the you know, having a good outbrea control process. >> doctor, distancing, masking and schools, all the things tha they have pushed and shoved dow our throats over the last year and a half, is there any real indication that that is saving lots of lives among young peopl or even vaccinated teachers now? >> no, the evidence still remains week that those nonpharmacological noun vaccine methods actually do that much. so i think the real bottom line is do people have a lot of fear. they want to be in control to somehow manage that fear, so th use all of these methods to think they're doing something that gives us some modicum of safety. that's a psychological problem that arises by all the fear mongering that has been enforce on the country and the world. if we can get rid of that fear that we can get on with doing the things that r

. >> martha: here's randi weingarten. the teachers got a reprove in new york. they were supposed to be vaccinated by today or fired. they got a reprieve. here's what she said. >> the issue in new york is not a policy. the issue is the implementation of it. part of any kind of vaccine policy, you have to have exemptions for medical issues and religious issues. >> martha: do you agree? >> yes, i do agree but always nervous hearing her talk. she's trying to protect teachers. what about the kids being compelled by mandates to wear masks? here's how i come out. i want there to be a conversation. i want to have a conversation with teachers. not to be a superimposed force issue. why would you put the safety of your children at school at risk? something like that. there needs to be exemptions, but they should be really enforced in the right way. not some box you check on a list. i want to understand it. i don't want teachers putting students at risk. >> martha: if you were a medical expert in this legal push, which i think is generating some steam for people to say loo

when you listen to their arguments -- i heard randi weingarten. we mixed it up on issues.y want, you know, i've had covid, i've had one shot. what does your doctor recommend? this nba player got a lot of attention for describing his thinking on this. i want to hear your thoughts. >> it is my belief that the vaccine status of every person should be their own choice, completely up to them without bullying, without being pressured or forced into doing so. i'm not ashamed to say i'm uncomfortable with taking the vaccine at this time. >> martha: he goes on to say, i've had covid, i have anti-bodies. he makes his case. that's his personal choice. >> that's why there should be a testing alternative also. if people don't want to take the vaccine because like him, he's uncomfortable, there should be a testing alternative. take a test, whatever makes sense from a medical perspective. make sure you're not infecting everybody else. i'm vaccinated. i believe in it. i took it. that was my choice. when you put mandates for jobs that we have to have done like front care health workers, te

physical and intellectual part 8.7 kids are making the shift to private schools because people like randi weingartenld them hostage until the federal government coughed up $180 billion so your precious cargo can become illiterate and tea for members. thanks it teachers unions now go suck an egg and let school choice do the work, that is the memo. >> you silly once a call the shots literally recent proposal the unit is now calling for a vaccine mandate and for all eligible students and tightening quarantine guidelines. if anyone gets sick, the whole class went to stay home and locked down and zoom maybe three hours a day. teachers would have no other choice but to sit around and drink their sorrow way just sounds fun doesn't it? how can the union president this is good for students. she doesn't care about students dave smith and richard fowler. jason i will start with you. how wrong am i here, jason? >> you are spot on kennedy i'm sure you are surprised i'm saying that. if we want this nation to survive we need to expose, crush and destroy these teachers unions. i would start by defining the teachers

i'm going to have you weigh in on what we heard from randi weingarten.king about texas governor greg abbott, florida governor ron desantis politicizing the mask mandate. they are getting so many cases in those states, so many children hospitalized, schools closing. do you think this could come back to bite them politically, especially as we get further into the winter season? >> i do. i think unfortunately as people continue to get sick, to suffer, to see their loved ones die, i do believe that you will eventually see a sea change even in some more conservative areas about the vaccine or at least about mask mandates and other safety precautions. but as per usual unfortunately these republican governors are playing the short-term game and thinking of of their own short-term political self-interest. they also don't want to become the target, right? of right-wing campaigns against them. and i think that is a factor that should also be considered. now, that's not to give them credit. they should actually just do their job. but that is the environment that we

randi weingarten is joining us now.n schools. you are up 90% of vavaccination it seems teachers are on board here. teachers wanted to be in school. they understand that being in school is the best place for kids. we put $5 million out in the field and we did a big back-to-school campaign. i have been in 18 states and 35 places since august the 1st. both teachers and parents and public health officials that the way back and to stay back is through being safe. that's a combination of vaccines and masking and ventilation and frankly the distancing and having a good outbreak control process. places that are doing that around the country frankly are doing pretty well like california and the places that are like making rules like those bizarre rules like that i just heard what manny diaz says, i could not believe that. like the governor in florida, thank god you have really, really strong superintendents who are saying no, safety first, not your politics. i am also concerned because even democratic mayors like people have con

randi weingarten of the american federation of teachers saying they were involved in creating legislationnions because it offers universal paris can't expanded childcare and free community college but there are payouts in this package that unions could benefit from. one of those is allowing union members to deduct $250 of union dues from their taxes and republicans are jumping all over it. the top republican on the house ways and means committee saying taxpayers are subsidizing unions when 90% of workers are not part of the union but other benefits what extra the minute offer extra cash for people who buy electric vehicles that are union made. the plan as is does offer a tax credit for $7,500 for people who buy electric vehicles but a union made car, they get an additional 4500 credits on top of that and the auto workers union president is praising that move saying this ensures that in the transition, taxpayer dollars will not subsidize, standard wages and middle-class economy during this job transition. we welcome all auto companies to unionize and give us workers the same union voice as

we should really send a thank you letter to randi weingarten for expanding educational freedom althoughcompetition in the educational marketplace. it's a win-win situation except for when you start to think about the politics of the, and the power dynamics of the teachers unions. what's interesting is a lot of people who support funding students directly for higher education with pell grants and the g.i. bill or with pre-k programs such as the federal head start program, they only oppose it when it comes to the in-between years of k-12 education, choices and norms for higher education and pre-k and just about any other industry in the united states, but choice threatens that entrenched special interest that would otherwise profit from getting children's education dollars regardless of how well they do. and what we've seen over the past year, regardless of whether they even open their doors for business. but in california, for example, a blue state, they have two ballot initiatives that they're putting to the vote for the people to take their $13-14,000 that the public schools spend per