Union Support
President Joe Biden: Signed into law the largest public education investment in U.S. history. This funding—nearly $170 billion—helped increase educator pay,
reduce class sizes, hire counselors, expand tutoring programs, and modernize schools.
Source(s): districtadministration.com, 3/10/23
Donald Trump: Every year he was in office, Trump proposed slashing billions in federal education funding. Trump and his education secretary, Betsy DeVos, also proposed funneling more than $1 billion into private school vouchers and other school choice programs.
Source(s): The New York Times, 2/10/20; The Washington Post, 2/12/18
Union Support
Biden: He believes the economy should be fueled by union jobs and is the first sitting president to appear on a picket line. Biden’s National Labor Relations Board has made it easier for unions to organize.
Source(s): AFLCIO.org, 6/29/23; CNN, 8/28/23; The American Prospect, 8/28/23; whitehouse.gov, 12/18/23
Trump: During his term, the National Labor Relations Board made it more difficult for unions to win representation. His secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, gutted a long-standing labor agreement, referring to unions as “defenders of the status quo.”
Source(s): CNN, 9/27/23; The Washington Post, 7/9/19; Newsweek, 9/2/18; onlabor.org, 6/27/18; The Washington Post, 3/28/18
Gun Violence Prevention
Biden: He signed into law the most significant gun violence prevention legislation in nearly 30 years. The bill improves mental health services in schools, tightens background checks, and closes a loophole to keep guns away from convicted domestic abusers. Biden also established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
Source(s): NPR, 6/25/22; ABC NEWS, 9/22/23; everytown.org, 7/13/23
Trump: He has proposed arming teachers with guns. He touted that he was the “most pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment president,” and has vowed to expand gun owners’ rights and terminate all of Biden’s gun regulations.
Source(s): NBC News, 4/14/23; Des Moines Register, 1/5/24; Politico, 2/9/24
