In the wake of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s announcement Friday that he will not seek reelection in 2016, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten has released a statement praising the five-term Nevada Democrat.
“While the U.S. Senate has a great bench of leaders, Sen. Reid was a master legislator who always had his eyes on what matters — making a difference for working families,” the wealthy Weingarten said in a press release sent to The Daily Caller.
“He deeply understands the importance of education to achieving the American dream and has been a strong ally in the fight to improve No Child Left Behind,” the teachers union honcho added. “He was one of the first in Congress to recognize its shortcomings. We expect he will work to craft a bipartisan reauthorized bill that will better support students, educators and schools.”
“His leadership in the Senate will be missed,” Weingarten concluded.
Weingarten complains loudly and routinely about the salaries of American teachers despite the fact that she makes at least $360,000 per year. (RELATED: Teachers Union Fat Cat Lives In America’s Top 1 Percent, Expresses Concern About Teacher Pay)
By way of comparison, a typical American elementary school teacher earns $56,130 annually. Thus, Weingarten enjoys a yearly income that is 641 percent more than the income of an average grade school teacher.
Her salary puts her puts her squarely in the top one percent of all Americans. (RELATED: Randi Weingarten Is Really Sad She Makes $326,300 More Than A Typical Preschool Teacher, You Guys)
Weingarten also brings home $186,000 more than Reid currently does as a U.S. Senator (with his salary of $174,000).
“We know that teachers and their families, like other workers, are feeling squeezed for many reasons: stagnant wages, increasing student debt and retirement insecurity, to name a few,” the teachers union boss declared in December.
Don’t feel too badly for Reid, though. He has shrewdly managed to parlay his earnings into an estimated net worth between $2.9 million and $6.7 million, according to The Huffington Post.
Follow Eric on Twitter. Like Eric on Facebook. Send education-related story tips to erico@dailycaller.com.