HOUSTON (July 22, 2024) – Following is a statement from Arthur Steinberg, president of the American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania (AFTPA) and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT), on President Biden’s decision to not seek re-election:
“President Joe Biden is the most dedicated and impactful champion of workers to have ever occupied the White House. Historians will mark all that President Biden did to protect low-income and middle-class Americans during a global pandemic, and to strengthen and grow their economic trajectories.
“Millions of Americans – including many of our members – have been able to pursue their dreams of homeownership, raising families, teaching, and other forms of public service after having billions of dollars in student debt canceled by the Biden administration. For that and so many other reasons, Joseph R. Biden is one of the greatest American presidents of our lifetime.
“His administration has overseen record job growth, reduced inflation, strengthened labor power, protected seniors, and pushed relentlessly to reform predatory industries and corporations – taking on anti-democracy MAGA legislators, governors, and judges along the way. Our members, who educate and support students in public schools across the Commonwealth, are grateful for President Biden’s transformative years of service. We admire the president’s decision to place country and party before himself and not seek re-election.”
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