PA PAC formed to fight teachers' union keeping schools closed

If you follow Democratic politics in America you are probably familiar with all manner of Political Action Committees (PACs) that are set up to support the goals of labor unions and the politicians who obey their commands so they will be funded. But have you ever seen a PAC set up specifically to fight a labor union? That’s what happened recently in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, which covers much of the greater Philadelphia area. As in many other cities, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, the local teachers’ union, and the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) have been working to keep the schools closed. The schools were set to reopen twice already, but the union instructed the teachers to stay at home.

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One mother from the district has had enough. Last month, Clarice Shillinger founded the Keeping Kids in School PAC, aimed at fighting to safely reopen the schools for in-person learning and returning things to normal. She’s been gaining traction and attention around the City of Brotherly Love and held a rally on Saturday to spread the word.

Several dozen parents in Montgomery County who want their children to return to the classroom held a rally outside of the Pennsylvania State Education Association Regional Office in Montgomeryville on Saturday afternoon.

The parents gathered to fight for the return to in-school instruction.

Organizers with the rally say they believe the teachers’ union is “strong-arming” teachers and influencing school boards to keep schools closed.

Mom Heather Seibel says virtual learning does not meet the needs of her blind and disabled son, who also receives physical, occupational, and speech therapy at schools.

The rally was held in front of the headquarters of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA). A PSEA spokesperson released a statement saying that their group “supported the right” of the PAC members, parents and protesters to engage in free speech, but went on to accuse them of “spreading disinformation.”

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That’s rather rich when you consider that the CDC has already said that schools can reopen safely and the Philadelphia School District is the one who ordered the teachers back to the classroom based on the federal guidelines. That’s what liberals generally love to call “following the science.” But in this case, the science apparently isn’t quite so follow-worthy.

The union’s demands are pretty much the same ones we’ve seen in Chicago and elsewhere. They want everyone vaccinated before they return to in-person classes. And as with the other locations we’ve covered, teachers are in the 1b group. Philadelphia is still vaccinating the 1a group. And not to put too fine of a point on it, but no vaccine has been approved for youths under the age of 18, so the kids can’t be vaccinated.

That’s pretty convenient if you’re looking for a reason not to go back to class, isn’t it? And that’s especially true if you happen to have a taxpayer-funded job where you’re still getting paid anyway.

Will the Keeping Kids in School PAC be successful against the behemoth power of a teachers’ union of this size? It’s an uphill battle to be sure. But if you’d like to help them out, you can check into the organization here.

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David Strom 6:40 PM | April 18, 2024
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