President Joe Biden held his first major campaign rally Saturday in Philadelphia before a large crowd of enthusiastic members of NEA and other unions, citing issues critical to educators and other workers as central to his campaign.
Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, and others repeatedly referred to his administration as “the most pro-union” in our lifetime during the rally—and Biden made it clear he was comfortable with the title.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, and never felt the sense of camaraderie and pride that I feel today meeting with you,” he said, as the crowd began chanting “four more years.”
“I told you when I ran for president that I’d have your back, and I did. But you’ve had my back as well,” he said. “I am more honored by your endorsement than you can imagine. This is going to make a gigantic difference in this campaign.”
Aaron Chapin, an elementary school teacher at Stroudsburg, Penn., Area Middle School and president-elect of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, agreed with the significance of the early enthusiasm but said it is critical that the momentum continue.
“It is great to see the excitement here this early, but this is just the beginning,” he said as he waited to enter the rally with more than 350 other NEA members and workers from unions from across the region. “We really need to get, and stay, energized about the election even though it is months away. We have to start now and work hard. It is too important.”
How Biden Earned Educators’ Support
On April 26, NEA President Becky Pringle announced that NEA is recommending President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominees for re-election.
During his term in office, Pringle said, Biden has made huge financial investments in public education, pushed the effort to relieve educator debt, made strides toward safer communities and schools for children across the country, and amplified the voices of educators.
Both Biden and Dr. Jill Biden emphasized his commitment to education and the importance of his connection to unions.
“A lot of politicians in this country can’t say the word ‘union,’” Biden said. “I’m not one of them. I’m proud to say the word. I’m proud to be the most pro-union president in American history.”
Dr. Biden, a longtime educator NEA member, supported that claim.
“He has kept his promises and worked every day for you,” she said. “His wins are your wins. But he isn’t done yet. He’s ready to finish the job, and he needs your support.”
Cynthia Douglas, a third-grade teacher for the North Penn School District in Lansdale, PA, who attended the rally, said Biden’s record heightened her interest in the campaign and in seeing that Biden is elected.
“We have learned from experience that elections really matter,” she said. “It has never been more important than now.”
Biden said he supports educators and other union members because they are critical to the country.
“If investment bankers went on strike, no one would notice,” he said. “Think about it. But if the people in this room didn’t show up for work tomorrow the whole country would come to a grinding halt.”
He reminded the crowd that in response to the problems he faced when he took office—a pandemic sweeping the nation and an economy in shambles—he created 13 million new jobs and 800,000 manufacturing jobs while taming inflation over the last 11 months and rebuilding a struggling supply chain.
“The supply chain was broken, the economy was shutting down, schools were closed, and cars were lining up to get food,” he said. “We had a plan."
Biden and two NEA members highlighted specific administration victories that have benefited working families; each was punctuated by cheers from the crowd.
Those accomplishments, Biden and the speakers noted, have included the American Rescue Plan to end the pandemic and boost the economy, the infrastructure legislation that is creating millions of jobs, the protection of pensions, and the appointments of pro-worker judges.
They noted the administration has lowered the cost of prescription drugs, has strenuously battled climate change while creating good jobs, and has fought for worker bargaining rights while staffing the administration with officials sensitive to worker issues.
“I’m looking forward to this campaign because we have a story to tell, and we have a record to run on. We are transforming this country,” Biden said.
NEA member Patricia A. Jackson, a language arts teacher in Pennsylvania’s Central York School District and a published author, told the crowd in remarks prior to Biden’s that she was concerned about “the rising tide of book bans.”
“Make no mistake these bans are a concerted effort to redefine patriotism and whitewash and erase the experiences of marginalized people,” she said. She said that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are “fighting back the tide of discrimination” and, among other things, are supporting an education department that will push back against this “unprecedented rise in extremism.”
“Stand firm in the nation’s greatest hour of need,” she urged the crowd. “Re-elect a man who believes in the voice of the people. Put your faith where it belongs, with Joe Biden.”
Biden's Lifeline to Students
Also speaking on behalf of NEA, Julia Szarko, a psychologist in the Central Bucks School District in Doylestown, Penn., and the National Association of School Psychologists’ 2021 psychologist of the year, discussed the ways in which the Biden administration has helped with the critical issues surrounding student mental health.
“The youth mental health crisis is real,’ she said as she described what professionals supporting student emotional health are facing. “Our hearts are broken for our children.”
She added that “culture wars against our public schools” from “extremist discriminatory policies” are, in particular, harming LGBTQ+ and minority youth.
“President Biden and his administration understand the value of school psychologists and expanding student access to school mental health services,” she said. “He committed from day one to doubling the number of school psychologists in our schools.”
She praised his support for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which provides $1 billion to remedy shortages of psychologists, counselors, and social workers.
“We need to do everything we can to get President Biden elected because this administration is committed to solving the mental health crisis in our schools.”
After the rally, Renee Seabrook-Hart, a veteran teacher from Glassboro, N.J., said she felt Biden “knocked it out of the park.”
“His support for unions is clear and it’s because Joe Biden has working-class roots. He understands and has addressed the needs of all workers – and has fought for us.”
Seabrook-Hart said she was particularly impressed by Szarko’s comments about Biden's support for mental health professionals, which she says has helped improve her own district.
“More needs to be done, however,” she said, “and that is among many reasons why making sure he is re-elected is so important.”
Donna Rossi, a Harriton High School Instructional aide in Pennsylvania’s Lower Merion School District, feels that Biden’s commitment to meeting the mental health needs of students is critical.
“That is in such contrast to the efforts being made to ban books and take rights away from LGBTQ+ youth,” she said.
Rossi was also particularly pleased by Dr. Jill Biden’s appearance and her enthusiastic support of educators.
“Biden’s long commitment to the right to organize and the protection of unions has gotten him early endorsements that show the gratitude of workers,” she said, citing his efforts to ensure workers’ rights, fair wages, the right to collective bargaining, healthcare coverage, and the protection of pensions.
“History shows our country does better when we invest in workers, and those of us in the room and in unions across the country should be doing our part to support his administration and this campaign. It benefits us all.”
