AFT President Weingarten Celebrates Historic Executive Order on Care Work

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after President Biden issued over 50 directives to nearly every cabinet-level agency to expand access to affordable, high-quality care and provide support for care workers and family caregivers:

“Every family has a need for child care, elder care and everything in between. Yet care is both very expensive and not readily available, and caregivers rarely secure a living wage or decent working conditions. That’s why what the Biden-Harris administration did today was so important. The president recognized the critical work of the caregivers today in issuing the most comprehensive set of executive actions any president has ever taken to improve care for hard-working families: lowering costs for child care, increasing pay and benefits for Head Start and child care workers, improving working conditions for those caring for our loved ones in nursing homes, supporting family caregivers and supporting the rights of people doing this essential work to have union protections on the job. 

“Families deeply appreciate President Biden’s family-first agenda as he lifts up the real work of care and what our kids and communities need.”