Ei-iE

Education International member organisations in the United States – the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) – continue to receive an outpouring of support from education unionists across the globe. The U.S. unions are joining forces to resist the unprecedented attacks by the Trump administration against education, civil rights, and democracy.

In an event hosted by Education International on March 24th, NEA President Becky Pringle and AFT President Randi Weingarten briefed the global education union movement on the situation in the United States, as well as what the unions are doing to defend education and human rights. The event was hosted in Reykjavík, Iceland, ahead of the International Summit on the Teaching Profession, and was attended by both union delegations to the summit as well as hundreds of unionists joining online.

Ruthless attacks on education, human rights, and democracy

The avalanche of extreme measures imposed by the Trump Administration since taking power in January has not only impacted the public sector and vulnerable communities in the United States, but is also having a widespread effect around the world.

The Trump administration and his team of billionaire techbros has put dismantling of the public sector, the push for privatization, eliminating the Department of Education, attacking immigrant students and families, abolishing civil rights, and restricting academic freedom at the core of their agenda.

“The goal of these measures is to destroy public education because education is the foundation of our society. The ultimate goal is that the Trump-Musk administration gets billions of dollars in tax breaks”, Pringle warned.

Weingarten added that “at his core, if there is any ideology that Trump believes in, it's money. He and his donors and friends want money and power - and they'll create a unitary executive, which violates our Constitution, to make sure they have that money and power. They believe in this oligarchical system and they will change everything to make it real.”

The NEA President added that anticipatory compliance was particularly worrying with “universities and schools giving into the administration’s demands because they are afraid they will be punished. These are the hallmarks of authoritarianism clearly on display. But you also see people rising up. Our unions, students, communities are standing up to say no.”

Union action for education and rights

NEA and AFT are mobilising and organising their members, communities, and allies across the country to defend an inclusive and diverse public education system and the students and communities which depend on it.

“We are educators. The first thing we are doing is educating our members, our allies, our parents and those who voted for Trump too. We’ve been organising and mobilizing our members and allies to take to the streets, do walk-ins to oppose the privatization of our schools. People love their public schools and we are building on this majority,” Pringle stated.

“According to polls, 65% of Americans don’t want the Department of Education dismantled. In places where school vouchers are on the ballot, they lose. People didn’t vote for this. We need to come together to educate and build community in order to oppose the chaos, confusion and cruelty of the Trump administration and its billionaire friends,” Weingarten stressed.

The unions have joined forced to organise thousands on walk-ins in schools across the United States. In addition, the unions are challenging the administration in the courts and are working to prepare for the midterm elections in 2026 which could see Trump lose control of the U.S. Congress.

Global solidarity with U.S. education unions

Expressing his support for colleagues in the United States, Mugwena Maluleke, Education International President, called for hope and resistance, stressing that history shows that “tyrants fall, the people always win.”

Education International members in Canada and Mexico, neighboring countries targeted by the Trump administration, also expressed their solidarity with U.S. colleagues.

“As fellow educators, we are not ignorant to Trump’s motives in trying to dismantle the Department of Education, or what he hopes to reap from its demise: more control, more power, and more money to siphon off to his business allies. For teachers in America, you are not alone in this fight. Around the world, educators stand in solidarity with you. We are in awe of your resilience and resolve and continue to be deeply inspired by your grit. We are here for you, shoulder to shoulder, whatever you need”, stated Shelley Morse, Member of the Education International Executive Board from the Canadian Teachers' Federation.

The message was echoed by Marjolaine Perreault, General Director of Centrale des syndicats du Québec and Member of the EI Executive Board, who added: “You have our solidarity, our full support as you fight against an administration that is threatening your rights. What happens in the United States has repercussions all over the world so we need to stand together.”

“President Trump is attacking education because it is the foundation of democracy and peace. Schools are the places where the seeds of inclusion and tolerance are sown and nurtured. We stand in solidarity with the NEA and the AFT in their fight for education and the rights of migrant communities”, stated Alfonso Cepeda Salas, General Secretary of the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (SNTE) of Mexico and Member of the Education International Executive Board.

Thanking colleagues from around the world for their support, Pringle noted that “this global community of education unions will fight with us to the last ditch for the right to learn. It is the only way that we will save our democracies everywhere, not only in the U.S. All of our collective progress is on the line but unions were made for this moment. I have no doubt that we will stand together and we will fight like hell because our children are depending on us”.

“The people united will never be defeated. When fear pervades, we lose a lot of rights. If we create a community that is united and combat the fear so that a next generation has the ability to mold a far better world, we will win”, Weingarten added.

“We represent 33 million teachers and education support personnel around the world. We are that community. Fascists are right to fear teachers’ unions because we have a track record of fighting fascists and winning. We are standing together and we will make good trouble”, David Edwards, Education International General Secretary concluded.