New York Times column blasted for portraying Randi Weingarten as champion of keeping schools open

A New York Times column praising teachers union head Randi Weingarten as a figure who worked to keep schools open over the past two years came under fire as “gaslighting."

Parents across the country have been frustrated by the damage done to students by lockdowns and remote schooling, and Weingarten's about-face on school openings after threatening strikes in 2020 if certain safety measures were not met has been fiercely criticized.

"But those who fault Weingarten for closed schools misunderstand the role she’s played over the last 20 months. Rather than championing shutdowns, she’s spent much of her energy, both in public and behind the scenes, trying to get schools open," Goldberg wrote. "And she’s been trying, sometimes uncomfortably, to act as a mediator between desperate parents grieving their kids’ interrupted educations, and beleaguered teachers who feel like they’re being blamed for a calamity they didn’t create."

Critics of Weingarten erupted on Twitter over the article.