• Lessons from Hungary and History: People Power is How We Prevail


    AFT-ASI President Randi Weingarten (L) and AFT Massachusetts President and Shanker Institute Board Member Jessica Tang (R) examine some of the classroom resources of Hungarian History teacher János Bősze (C).


    As a social studies teacher and leader of the AFT’s Resistance Committee, I know we stand to learn a great deal from Hungary – by looking at both its past and present. 

    However, nothing could have prepared me for hearing firsthand what Hungarian union educators, activists and community leaders had to say about their own experiences over the past 16 years and beyond. It galvanized a deeper understanding of both how our democratic backsliding can get much worse, but also how it can be overcome. 

    As we heard local Hungarians recount their experiences as part of their resistance movement, it was impossible to ignore the eerie and all too familiar undercurrent that accompanied each discussion we had with them. Connecting with our union siblings and democracy activists made it clear that the experience of authoritarianism is global, as are the challenges we face in public education. The similarities between their experiences and what we are seeing as Project 2025 is being implemented throughout the nation became abundantly clear.

  • They Did It in Hungary; We Can Do It Here too.


    AFT leaders meet with Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony. (L-R Stacy Davis Gates, President of AFT Illinois and the Chicago Teachers Union; Wendy Coleman, President of AFT Pennsylvania; The Honorable Gergely Karascony, Mayor of Budapest; Randi Weingarten, President of AFT and Albert Shanker Institute; Jeff Freitas, President of AFT California; and Jessica Tang, President of AFT Massachusetts.)

    The attacks on our democracy aren’t happening in a silo. This is happening around the world, and it’s all connected.

    I spent last week in Hungary with AFT President Randi Weingarten and three other AFT vice presidents: Illinois Federation of Teachers President Stacy Davis Gates, AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang and AFT Pennsylvania President Wendy Coleman. We had the opportunity to attend the Budapest Forum, where Randi spoke on a panel about resilient democracies in a fractured world. There was a sense of hope and a sense of urgency because, after this year’s election defeating authoritarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán, Hungary has a chance to get it right.

    I’m a math teacher, not a civics or history teacher like Randi. For many of us, these concepts are just that: ideas removed from reality. But as a labor leader, I get to see them in play, and the discussions we had this week were about how we can make democracy real for people.

    Democratic backsliding. Authoritarianism. Illiberal democracy. We know these are bad. But what do they mean in practice?

  • What I Learned About Standing Up for Our Democracy From Traveling to Hungary

    AFT leaders meet with Mayor of Budapest
    AFT Pennsylvania President Wendy Coleman and AFT-ASI President Randi Weingarten meet with Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony.

    Recently I had the opportunity to accompany AFT President Randi Weingarten and three of my fellow AFT vice presidents — Illinois Federation of Teachers and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang and CFT President Jeff Freitas — on a solidarity mission to Budapest, Hungary. In case you’re not familiar with Hungary’s political landscape and are wondering why AFT leaders would travel to the Eastern European nation: In April 2026 the country voted to oust authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power. This victory was years in the making by everyday people, including educators and students, who organized and protested against Orbán’s corruption and his crackdown on free speech, democracy, public education, immigration and human rights.

    If that situation sounds familiar to you, there’s a reason: Donald Trump and his administration have long praised Orbán and have cited his autocratic government as a model to follow. We’ve seen the Trump administration attack our elections, try to undermine public education, infringe on a free press and violate human rights, and much like in Hungary, it is educators, unions, students and organizations across the U.S. that are pushing back against Trump’s attempts to erode our democracy and enshrine himself and his party in power.