American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten, 68, directly addressed Elon Musk and tech billionaire Jeff Yass during a speech at the union's annual national convention in Washington, D.C. this week. Weingarten, who leads one of the nation's largest teachers' unions, urged thousands of educators, healthcare professionals, and public employees in attendance to continue their fight for workers' rights and public services.
"You, my friends, you have done it regardless of bad labor law. Regardless of Citizens United. Regardless of Elon Musk and Jeffrey Yass and everything that gets thrown at us because people in America want a union," Weingarten stated aggressively, referencing the Supreme Court ruling that allows unlimited independent political expenditures by corporations, unions, and other groups.
She identified Musk and Yass as significant individual political donors whose funding supports campaigns advocating for privatization and deregulation. These political stances are often at odds with the AFT's mission to protect taxpayer-funded education and social safety nets. Weingarten has previously written that Musk's actions are an attempt to secure "tax cuts for the rich" and target teachers who advocate for federal education programs.
Weingarten also touched on the growing influence of artificial intelligence on education, emphasizing the need for human teachers. "Students need their teachers – real human beings, not robots and not chatbots," she said in a May speech at the National Press Club. This statement comes as Musk is reportedly working to provide AI tutors for students in El Salvador through his X chatbot, Grok.