Weingarten

The labor movement is "one of the few vehicles" that can rebuild the middle class and help people take themselves out of poverty, said Randi Weingarten '80, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

"That's because of our unique role at the ballot box and the bargaining table. We're really good at shining the light on injustice," Weingarten said.

She delivered that message to a capacity crowd during her Union Days keynote presentation April 12 at the ILR School. Weingarten stressed that a key challenge this century is to reignite the labor movement and strengthen the public school system.

"This is essential to reimagining our country's vision for shared prosperity," she said, noting the "big irony" is that in the 20th century, public education and the labor movement were viewed as the most enabling groups for driving and creating opportunity. But today there is growing anger directed at unions and teachers, Weingarten said.

"Unions have to be seen as standing up for protecting the common good. We have to help the public see who we really are. This will require more than just a messaging campaign. It has to be real," she said.

As head of a union with more than 1.5 million members, Weingarten said she has led the group in efforts to take on tenure and teacher effectiveness.

Public schools "have to be about quality, not just about fairness. And we have to fix schools, not just close them," Weingarten said.

She believes that market-based reforms -- such as using student test scores to evaluate and compensate teachers -- are not effective and negatively affect the public education system. She cited several university studies that question market-based reforms. National studies on merit pay, for example, have shown that rewarding teachers with bonuses based on test scores does not necessarily lead to higher test scores.

The labor movement must move beyond cries for fairness and focus on quality: "If you build with union labor, you know you will get a quality product. Look at the United Auto Workers now. This has been a key philosophy in helping to resuscitate the UAW," Weingarten said.

It's "no coincidence" that union membership has dropped while wage inequality has increased, she added, but unions still have value for workers.

"If you're in a union today, you are 54 percent more likely to have employer-paid benefits. If you're a woman, you're more likely to have health benefits if you're in a union versus if you have a college degree."

Weingarten, an ILR alumna who said the school is "home to me," sees opportunity in the recent "anger movements," such as the Occupy movement that began on Wall Street and spread across the country: "These movements are built on frustration over the economy and that everyone should have a fair shot at realizing their dreams."

In closing, Weingarten said: "I ask you to take your passion and use it to make a difference. Use it to help reignite a movement, one that says if you work hard, you can raise a family, retire with dignity and have a voice in democracy.

"Because this land is our land -- and this land was made for you and me."

Joe Zappala is assistant dean for communications and marketing at the ILR School.