The pandemic has put tremendous stress on teachers, according to Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers.

WorkingNation sat down with Weingarten at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2022 in Beverly Hills.

Weingarten says, “In state after state after state, you’re hearing somewhere between a quarter to 80% of the teachers saying, ‘I don’t know how long I can do this.’ And you don’t have people coming through the pipeline the way they used to because teaching, as important as it is, is just not as respected as it should be.”

She says we need to keep teachers in the profession once they’ve entered. “It comes down to conditions, respect, some voice and agency, and – of course – pay. Those things would help a lot.”

Learn more about the American Federation of Teachers.