Two powerful national union honchos — including teachers boss Randi Weingarten — are parting ways with the Democratic National Committee over a beef with Chairman Ken Martin about the party’s direction.
Weingarten, the longtime head of the American Federation of Teachers and former head of New York City’s educators’ union, and Lee Saunders, chief of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, have turned down offers to remain at-large members at the troubled political organization.
“While I am proud to be a Democrat, I appear to be out of step with the leadership you are forging, and
I do not want to be the one who keeps questioning why we are not enlarging our tent and actively
trying to engage more and more of our communities,” Weingarten wrote in a June 5 letter to Martin.
Weingarten had been an at-large member of the DNC since 2022 and enjoyed a perch on its Rules and Bylaws Committee since 2009.
Saunders told the New York Times that his decision to nix his involvement “was not made lightly.”
“These are new times. They demand new strategies, new thinking and a renewed way of fighting for the values we hold dear. We must evolve to meet the urgency of this moment,” Saunders told the outlet, which first reported the situation.
“This is not a time to close ranks or turn inward. The values we stand for, and the issues we fight for, benefit all working people,” Saunders said. “It is our responsibility to open the gates, welcome others in and build the future we all deserve together.”
Saunders didn’t elaborate on his specific grievances.
The two high-profile departures come a week after controversial DNC Vice Chair David Hogg exited his role.
While Weingarten did not delve into her specific gripes, she has defended Hogg over the firestorm that erupted involving his plans to spend $20 million meddling in primaries.
Martin had rejected Hogg’s plans to sic Hogg’s “Leaders We Deserve” group on incumbents that the 25-year-old deemed as not doing enough in safe-blue districts while maintaining his role as a leader within the party’s national apparatus.
“Our job is to be neutral arbiters,” Martin stressed in a leaked April call. “We can’t be both the referee and also the player at the same time.”
Hogg’s exit came after the DNC determined it needed to hold new elections for two of its vice chair positions because of a complaint that Hogg and fellow Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta were improperly elected in violation of the party’s gender parity rules.
Ultimately, Hogg declined to vie against Kenyatta for the male vice chair perch. Kenyatta then reclaimed the role after being unopposed.
On Sunday, the DNC began holding a vote on a vice chair of any gender in a contest that is set to stretch through Tuesday.
Earlier this month, leaked May 15 audio captured Martin venting about the Hogg controversy, admitting, “The other night I said to myself for the first time, ‘I don’t know if I wanna do this anymore.’ “
Weingarten and Saunders had also backed the outgoing chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, Ben Wikler, to helm the national DNC during its elections in February.
After he won the top committee spot, Martin opted to shake up the DNC panels, and Weingarten was pushed off the Rules and Bylaws Committee.
Despite declining the nomination to remain on the DNC, Weingarten vowed that the AFT will “continue to be a leader in electing pro-public education, pro-working family candidates and will be especially engaged in the 2025-26 elections.”
“I believe the Democratic Party has a vital role in America, the party in modern times that has fought
relentlessly and repeatedly for all Americans to have justice, freedom and opportunity,” she added in the letter.
Neither the DNC, AFT nor AFSCME responded to Post requests for comment.
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