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National teacher union president on Trump's efforts to defund public education

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks during the Democratic National Convention Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
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Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks during the Democratic National Convention Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Members of the American Federation of Teachers are meeting in Washington D.C. Friday. The union’s annual conference comes as the Trump administration has frozen more than $5 billion of funding for K-to-12 schools and vowed to close to the Department of Education.

We speak to AFT president Randi Weingarten about the challenges facing school teachers.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR

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