Westmont, IL – Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery released the following statement on the inauguration of the 46th President, Joe Biden.
“Today fills me with tremendous hope for the future of our unions, students, and educators because it marks an end to the blight our democracy suffered under the Trump and DeVos administration. With the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we begin a new chapter where decency and civility are the standard, and where unions and educators are valued and respected again by our country’s leaders.
“As a labor movement, we must come together and look ahead. It’s time to rebuild and recover. It’s time to grow into the America we should be – one that treats our Black and Brown citizens with respect and equity, extinguishes racism, nationalism and their evils; one that prioritizes the needs of students; and one that lifts up all working people. And we must unite around a humane and humanizing recovery from the many devastations of the COVID crisis.
“The hard work of undoing the destructive Trump/DeVos agenda begins today, but I am confident that under the leadership of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris our nation is on a path towards a more just society that centers the interests of students, educators, and working families.”
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The Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) represents 103,000 teachers and paraprofessionals in PreK-12 school districts throughout Illinois, faculty and staff at Illinois’ community colleges and universities, public employees under every statewide elected constitutional officer, and retirees.