Vice President Kamala Harris inspires delegates at NEA RA

Teachers from Hawaii were among the 6,000 educators from around the country who cheered with approval when Vice President Kamala Harris addressed delegates Tuesday at the National Education Association’s Representative Assembly (NEA RA) in Chicago.

The vice president delivered encouraging words to teachers as emotions run high in a deeply divided country over issues such as gun safety, women’s rights, and teacher pay.

Harris began her speech by acknowledging the Highland Park shooting, which occurred the day before, approximately 30 miles away from the NEA RA convention in Chicago, taking seven lives and injuring dozens more, including a teacher.

“Teachers should not have to practice barricading a classroom,” Harris said, alluding to recent school shootings. “Teachers should not have to know how to treat a gunshot wound, and teachers should not be told that lives would have been saved if only you had a gun.”

Harris spoke of President Joe Biden recently signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first significant gun safety legislation passed by Congress in nearly 30 years. Yet, she said “we have more to do.

“Congress needs to have the courage to act and renew the assault weapons ban,” she said. “An assault weapon is designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly. There is no reason why we need weapons of war on the streets of America. We need reasonable gun safety laws.”

The vice president assured members that the White House heard and took action on issues teachers face in the classroom including struggling through the pandemic, subpar facilities, and limited access to the internet for students. She thanked NEA members for their leadership and support, and credited them for being good partners in finding resolutions to these problems, including:

• Launching a new initiative to help students who fell behind during the pandemic by allocating 250,000 tutors and mentors to be in schools to give students the support they need.
• Replacing lead pipes in 400,000 schools and child care centers across the country to guarantee clean drinking water for students.
• Making high-speed internet accessible and affordable to every American household by the end of the decade.

Harris lauded unions for their ability to organize, saying “unions give workers a voice.”

She reported that “today, unions have their highest approval rating since 1965. However, corporate interests and anti-union politicians build barriers for people.”
Harris chairs the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, which makes recommendations to address how the government’s policies, programs, and practices can be used to promote worker organizing and collective bargaining.

“The president and I are willing to lead the most pro-union administration in American history,” Harris said after affirming that President Biden accepted all 70 of the task force’s proposals to make it easier to organize.

Harris went on to criticize “extremist so-called political leaders” who are “taking freedoms away” from educators.

“We are 126 days away from an election, and we all know what we need to do,” she said.

“The president and I are counting on you to help us move forward as a nation, just as NEA has done throughout its history,” she continued. “Educators are an essential part. You are essential to the future of our democracy. We will do this work together because NEA has always been a powerful force whose members understand the power of unity.”

HSTA members react to Harris’ words

Many Hawaii State Teachers Association members said they were inspired and energized by her speech, especially after her parting words: “Do not despair. Do not be overwhelmed. Do not throw up your hands when it is a time to roll up our sleeves.”

That message resonated with Amber Riel, a math teacher at Waianae High. “We have a lot of that to do at home too, to make sure that all the kids have what they need and learn all the stuff they need to be good citizens,” Riel said.

Waiakea High Freshman Academy counselor Adrel Vicente said, “You can really tell she knows what our NEA union stands for, and the values that we hold true to our heart, because she would reiterate those same values to help our kids and it was just overall very inspiring.”

Laverne Moore, McKinley High special education teacher and HSTA’s teacher lobbyist, said, “This is the most progressive administration in regards to public education, in regards to low-income families, in regards to working class. I am so proud, as a Democrat, as a woman, that is a minority, being an educator, that I am living in a time that the Biden-Harris administration is making fundamental, progressive process for America.”

Rebecca Hadley-Schlosser, a special education teacher at Nanaikapono Elementary, said, “I really liked how she talked about how the NEA has stood up for the rights of all people from the inception of the union to today. That really is what we do. As teachers, especially me as a special education teacher, my job is to advocate for my students. Every teacher needs to advocate for their students.”

Uluhani Waialeale, a teacher at Kualapuu Elementary Public Charter School on Molokai, said, “I love seeing a woman of color being in her position of power. It made me feel like as a woman, anything is possible. There are so many girls out there dreaming to be in the position that she has. So I’m glad I’m alive to see this history.”

Waialeale was also moved by Harris’ words about teachers being the future of democracy.

“To me, that’s pretty huge. Because she’s saying that you know, we have a voice, we have power as NEA and they’re listening to us. So it’s nice to get that confirmation from the VP, and I’m excited to see how much more they’re going to support educators as we move forward into this next election year.”

Amie Stroud, a teacher at Kealakehe Elementary on Hawaii Island, expressed, “As a teacher, I’ve been feeling really defeated in a lot of ways, and so I felt super encouraged to hear (messages like) don’t throw up your hands, roll up your sleeves, we’ve got work to do, and the election’s coming. It was a reminder that progress and change are not linear, and so there are ups and downs. It doesn’t mean all is lost.”

About NEA RA

Every summer, thousands of educators from around the country meet at the National Education Association Representative Assembly to debate and vote on vital issues that impact public education and set NEA policy and activities for the year ahead.

This year, NEA RA took place in Chicago with approximately 6,000 educators from every state in attendance, both in person and virtually. Click here for the latest updates for this year’s RA.

The NEA is the largest union in the country, and the RA is the world’s largest democratic deliberative assembly.