First lady Jill Biden on Wednesday visited members of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers on the South Side to encourage educators to vote in next week’s midterm election.
The first lady, a teacher herself, told a captivated audience of teachers union members that her husband ran for president to fight for workers, and he could use more Democrats in Congress to help him.
“He understands that unions built the middle class,” Biden said. “You’ve seen it right here in Pittsburgh, that when people have the chance to work hard and use their collective voice, we can build a brighter future for everyone.”
This election will be a choice between two “drastically different visions” for the future, Biden said. On one side, she said, Democrats want to build on the progress that has been made over the past two years. On the other side, Republicans are attacking unions, trying to pass an abortion ban and giving more tax cuts to the wealthy.
Biden said the election would be won or lost by how highly union members prioritize voting.
“This year, races up and down the ballot are going to be so close,” she said. “The only way we’re going to win is by showing up and encouraging others to do the same, no matter how busy they are. So put voting on the top of your to-do list.”
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, introduced the first lady by noting the importance of this election to the union way of life and sending a message to workers currently on strike in Pittsburgh.
“I do want to shout out the members of the media who are here today, especially the staff of the Pittsburgh Union Progress,” Weingarten said. “And I’m shouting them out because they have created a strike paper of reporters and photographers and production staff who are on strike right now from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.”
Weingarten said it would be politicians such as Jill Biden’s husband, President Joe Biden, and other Democrats who would be on the side of workers and stand up to those who would try to take away their rights.
But the election is about more than labor rights, Weingarten said.
She asked those in the audience to think about who is defending democracy, protecting social security and Medicare, working to reduce inflation, and who found a way to make sure schools in Pittsburgh and in Pennsylvania were funded over the past two years.
“If we believe in democracy, if we believe in freedom, if we believe in public education, if we believe that working families have a right to a union, if we believe in driving down prices and driving up wages, if we believe in government working, we’ve got to get people out to vote,” Weingarten said. “Because what we need are people like Jill Biden and her husband.”
Andrew writes about education and more for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at agoldstein@unionprogress.com.