The leader of the largest U.S. union speaks out

NEA President Becky Pringle takes a clear position after the Washington events. Foto: parker Miller from Washington, D.C. , United States / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA 2.0

(Red / PR) – Trump supporters have violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in a last-ditch attempt to stop Congress from certifying that President-elect Joe Biden won the election. The leader of the largest U.S. union, the NEA, President Becky Pringle, has sent us the following statement:

“Make no mistake about it: What we are witnessing today is an attack on our country and on our democratic institutions. To be clear, these seditious attacks on our Capitol are bred from years of vitriol, hate and bigotry and were fueled by a president and the many elected Republican accomplices who blatantly lied about the election while attempting to overturn the will of the people in a desperate attempt to hold onto power. In America, voters pick our leaders; our leaders do not pick and choose which voices to heed and which to silence.

We must come together — just as we did in record numbers in the election — to show our students that we will stand together against politicians who incite violence and those who act on it. We will stand up to those who empower the anarchists that have violently stormed the Capitol, trying to overturn the will of the people. We will protect our democracy. The world is watching. Our students are watching.”

And Becky Pringle goes event further: ”Our nation is based on a promise that every single person — Black, Latino/a/x, Asian, Native, White, regardless of wealth — can pursue a better tomorrow. That promise is in jeopardy because President Donald Trump and his allies refuse to accept the will of the people and have endangered Americans and American democracy.

To protect our democracy and ensure the safety of our nation, the National Education Association is calling for the immediate removal of Donald Trump from the office of the President. Yesterday wasn’t the first heinous and anti-democratic act of violence directed by the current president and his allies, and it won’t be the last if he isn’t removed from office now.”

This statement is of paramount importance, since it comes from the “National Education Association” – the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, students preparing to become teachers, healthcare workers, and public employees. It is impossible to not hear what the NEA has to say and what the millions of teachers in the U.S.A. feel and say.

Even if Donald Trump has only a few days left in office, it would be a good sign if he was impeached – the U.S.A. can’t afford to let him get away with this attempt to overturn the democratic institutions of the U.S.A. In order to avoid that other countries follow the Trump example, it is important to react to this criminal behavior. And it’ll take some time for the new Biden administration to close the gap between the Trump voters and the reasonable Americans. Tough times to come…