Randi Weingarten Has Entered the CDL Wars

AFT President discovers another oppressed class in need of immediate union protection: people with commercial driver’s licenses

The American Federation of Teachers has apparently decided that teaching children is no longer a sufficiently broad mission. I mean, after all, why stop at teachers, school bus drivers, and education policy when there are 17 million CDL (Commercial Drivers License) records sitting around just begging for union intervention?

Yes, Randi Weingarten is now involved in a lawsuit over the federal government's efforts to obtain commercial driver’s license records.

And if you are wondering what this has to do with the American Federation of Teachers, don't worry. The answer eventually arrives, although it takes a scenic route through the Democratic Party's favorite subjects: immigration, ICE, privacy, government power, and the mysterious belief that every federal database becomes sacred the moment someone proposes checking it.

Unions were originally created to protect American workers.

Then many of them discovered politics.

Then they discovered progressive politics.

And eventually some discovered that their membership rolls could double as a taxpayer-funded focus group for every Democratic policy imaginable.

The AFT says it represents about 13,500 transportation workers, including school bus drivers and maintenance drivers, many of whom hold CDLs.

Fair enough, but there is a slight complication.

These are not merely driver's licenses for people operating a family sedan. Commercial driver's licenses are used by people driving enormous vehicles capable of turning an ordinary Tuesday morning commute into a national emergency.

And some Americans have already paid the ultimate price for failures involving improperly qualified commercial drivers.

Marcus Coleman testified before Congress earlier this month after a 2024 crash caused by an illegal alien CDL driver left his 5-year-old daughters with severe brain injuries.

That's the part of the story where the adults in the room might reasonably ask whether every person entrusted with a massive commercial vehicle is actually qualified to operate it.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy apparently had the same crazy thought.

The administration shut down scores of commercial trucking schools over serious English proficiency problems among their students.

Apparently, federal officials would like commercial drivers to understand the language used on the road.

This has proven to be a controversial position.

The AFT responded by joining an ongoing lawsuit against the Department of Transportation.

The union explained:

..[T]he AFT moved to join an ongoing lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation, seeking to stop the agency from seizing the personal records of 17 million commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the nonprofit that maintains the national database of driver records. The AFT is represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group and Murphy Anderson PLLC.

The AFT says those records contain sensitive information, including names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, license numbers, and state of record.

That's a legitimate privacy concern.

But then Randi Weingarten entered the chat, apparently having been alerted that the federal government was attempting to enforce something.

“Many AFT members require a CDL to work as school bus drivers or Department of Transportation employees, and we must protect them and their privacy against the vindictive nature of this president and his cronies,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “Just like we sued the Department of Government Efficiency for trying to mine personal information from millions of working-class Americans, today we intervene against the U.S. government’s attempt to strong-arm the AAMVA to turn over CDL holders’ private information. This illegal demand puts millions of people’s personal data up for grabs without their consent, people who had no choice but to provide their personal information to the states so they could simply work, and who have no way to remove it from the database.”

And there it is.

The AFT has apparently decided that the appropriate response to concerns about commercial driver qualifications is to make sure nobody looks too closely at the paperwork.

This is particularly reassuring for anyone whose child rides a school bus.

The federal government wants access to CDL records.

The AFT wants the government to back away from the records.

Twenty-two states, including Illinois, are suing because they apparently have an old-fashioned belief that commercial drivers should be properly licensed and that public safety might be worth considering.

What an amazing concept.

Of course, Weingarten has never been shy about getting involved in causes far beyond the traditional boundaries of a teachers union. Next she'll be trying to woo the National Cemetery Board of Trustees [no such organization--I made it up] in order to grab even more votes from the dead.

There have been anti-ICE campaigns, political battles involving corporations, international trips, and now the exciting new world of CDL database litigation.

At this rate, the next AFT convention may need to be held at an international summit because the union has apparently run out of domestic issues.

Imagine being an American teacher who pays union dues because you want better pay, better working conditions, and someone fighting for you at the bargaining table.

Then you open the newspaper and discover that your union is helping litigate a federal dispute involving 17 million commercial driver's license records.

Somewhere, a teacher is probably asking, "Did I authorize this?" and "Do I want the union to piss my money away for a cause I don't care about?"

And somewhere else, a union official is preparing a 47-page response explaining why the answer is none of your dadgum business.

The truly bizarre part is that the AFT's argument is being made in the name of working Americans while the larger dispute involves whether the government should be able to identify commercial drivers who may not meet basic licensing requirements. Apples and mangos. 

That includes drivers operating school buses. You know buses carrying children.

Children who generally have very little say in who gets behind the wheel.

There is a certain dark comedy in watching an organization dedicated to protecting children become deeply concerned that the government might investigate the qualifications of people operating vehicles around children.

But perhaps this is simply the modern union movement.

Protect the database.

Protect the driver.

Protect the politics.

And if anyone asks whether the driver can actually understand the road signs, immediately call the lawyers.

The old AFT protected teachers.

The new AFT apparently has enough time to protect 17 million CDL records, battle the federal government, fight ICE, weigh in on corporate politics, travel internationally, and somehow still find time to send out emails reminding teachers that their dues are due.

At this point, perhaps the next logical step is for the AFT to start representing air-traffic controllers, deep-sea fishermen, nuclear submarine crews, and anyone else who happens to possess a government-issued credential.

After all, once you've decided that 17 million commercial driver's license holders are your responsibility, there isn't much left to unionize.

AFT: Fighting for educators, transportation workers, and apparently anyone else whose paperwork the government wants to inspect.

Perhaps AFT should stand for: Any Freaking Thing.

Thanks for following Brain Flushings. Please take time to check out the sponsors on this page--it's one way to support my work and you don't need to purchase anything to do so. Of course, you can Buy Me A Coffee at any amount if you want to support me directly. And finally, don't be afraid to subscribe if you enjoy the blog--it's free, and worth the cost.

Tweet

Texas Airports Discover the Shocking Concept of Religious Neutrality

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R-of course) has apparently committed the unforgivable sin of asking whether government-owned airports should be in the business of providing religion-specific amenities.

Abbott ordered a review of state funding for airports across Texas after learning about Islamic ablution facilities at two of the state's largest airports. The question is fairly simple: If government is supposed to remain religiously neutral, why is it providing specialized facilities for the practices of one particular faith?

“These ablution facilities appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion. That is illegal,” said Abbott.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport plans to install separate foot-washing stations for men and women so Muslims can perform wudu, the ritual washing conducted before Islamic prayer. The project was originally listed as privately funded, with an estimated price tag of $300,000 and an August 31 start date.

Apparently, however, the phrase "privately funded" was experiencing a brief identity crisis.

DFW later told the Dallas Express that the facilities would actually be paid for with airport funds. The airport blamed an outside design firm, which mistakenly selected "non-publicly funded" on a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

“That was an error and it should have indicated that airport funds would be used projects. We are putting in firm erroneously selected no dollars for its operation to prevent that kind of error in the future,” said DFW.

This is reassuring. Nothing makes taxpayers sleep better than learning that hundreds of thousands of dollars in airport spending may have been accurately described as private funding due to an unfortunate encounter with a dropdown menu.

Abbott's review could result in existing state grants being revoked and future funding denied to airport operators, including DFW and George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

He has also asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to investigate both airports for possible religious discrimination.

While DFW is still deciding whether to install its ablution facilities, IAH [George Bush International Airport] already has one connected to a prayer room.

“Both airports are government-owned facilities,” said Abbott. “The federal and state constitutions prohibit government from facilitating this sort of discrimination.”

Abbott also asked Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to have the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration review the facilities and take corrective action if necessary.

Both airports receive federal funding and are required to comply with federal laws prohibiting religious discrimination. Which raises an awkward question for the modern bureaucracy: If government cannot favor one religion over another, how exactly did taxpayers wind up underwriting religious foot baths?

Surely this is all just a misunderstanding.

Perhaps tomorrow the airports will announce that Christians can receive complimentary baptismal pools, Jews can get kosher ceremonial washing stations, Hindus can receive a taxpayer-funded purification room, and atheists can be provided with a comfortable chair where they can contemplate the absurdity of the entire arrangement.

DFW's explanation does little to calm the situation. According to the airport, the outside design firm selected the wrong funding designation on the paperwork.

Apparently the airport's religious neutrality was not the problem. The checkbox was.

X users backed Abbott's move, with some calling for similar scrutiny of other airports.

At this rate, the next great airport security breakthrough may not involve detecting explosives. It may involve detecting whether the government has accidentally decided to become the facilities manager for someone's religion.

And somewhere, a taxpayer is still waiting for the airport to build a special foot-washing station for him.

He just hasn't figured out which religion gets one yet.

I want to thank you for following Brain Flushings. Please take time to simply check out the sponsors on this page--it's one way to support my work and you don't need to purchase anything to do so. Of course, you can Buy Me A Coffee if you want to support me directly. And finally, don't be afraid to subscribe if you enjoy the blog--it's free, and worth the cost.

Tweet

Sean Duffy purges 3,000 trucker license training providers after illegal immigrant driver crashes

The adults are finally back in charge at the Department of Transportation.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy just dropped the hammer so hard on the "illegal trucking chain" that the Biden-era grifters are probably still hearing the echo.

In one glorious sweep, Duffy's team just booted nearly 3,000 sketchy CDL training providers off the federal registry because, low and behold, they were faking records, bribing examiners, and basically running a clown car college for people who have no business piloting an 80,000-pound death missile down the interstate.

Another 4,500 got the "you’re next" letter while the feds comb through the remaining 16,000 like it's an IRS audit on steroids.

And the best part is how FMCSA Administrator Derek D. Barrs responded saying that providers unwilling to follow the rules "have no place training America's commercial drivers." 

Secretary Duffy, never one to let a good house-cleaning go uncelebrated, lit up the previous administration like a Christmas tree on fire: "This administration is cracking down on every link in the illegal trucking chain. Under Joe Robinette Biden and Pete "What, Me Worry?" Buttigieg, bad actors were able to game the system and let unqualified drivers flood our roadways. Their negligence endangered every family on America's roadways, and it ends today. Under President Trump, we are reigning in illegal and reckless practices that let poorly trained drivers get behind the wheel of semi-trucks and school buses."

Meanwhile, Minnesota just got put on the 30-day clock to revoke a mountain of illegally issued commercial licenses or kiss $30 million in highway cash goodbye. That’s right, Gov. "Tampon Tim" Walz's utopia apparently handed out CDLs like participation trophies to non-domiciled drivers (read: a third of them were bogus). Tick-tock, boys and girls.

All of this comes after a parade of horrific crashes involving illegal immigrant truckers with shiny new licenses they never should've gotten: Harjinder Singh, Partap Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Rajinder Kumar… the Singh-sational tour of interstate carnage that the open border wokesters pretended wasn't happening.

Remember when the media swore these were just isolated incidents and anyone who noticed a pattern was a big meanie? Yeah, about that.

Sean Duffy and the Trump administration just said, "Hold my coffee," and started ripping out the entire rotten infrastructure that put these disasters on wheels.

Finally, someone in Washington is treating 18-wheelers like the potential weapons of mass destruction they are instead of a jobs program for people who can't pass the test without a bribe.Welcome back, common sense, we missed you.

If you like Brain Flushings and want to Buy Me a Coffee, I would appreciate it, as it supports my work. Obviously, there is no pressure but I certainly wouldn't stop you.

Tweet

Planes forcedto 'go-arounds' after Army helicopter's 'scenic' route to Pentagon

The skies over D.C. just got a little too wild for comfort. In a move that screams “rules are for suckers,” a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter decided to play tourist over the Pentagon, forcing two commercial flights to pull a “not today” and circle back for safer landings. This wasn’t just a minor oops—it’s the kind of thing that makes you wonder if someone’s trying to turn Reagan National into an action movie set.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is now digging into this mess alongside the FAA, a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 (Flight 1671) and a Republic Airways Embraer E170 (Flight 5825) were told to hit the brakes—mid-air—around 2:30 p.m. EST on Thursday. Why? Because this Black Hawk was apparently taking the long way home to the Pentagon from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, looping around the south and east sides like it was sightseeing. 

The Washington Post got hold of an FAA summary that called the route “scenic.” Scenic! As if this chopper was out there snapping selfies with the Lincoln Memorial.

Now, let’s talk numbers: Flight 1671, carrying 97 passengers and five crew from Orlando, had to abort its landing first. Then, Flight 5825 came within a half mile of kissing this Black Hawk, which was cruising just 200 feet below it. Oh, and for a few heart-stopping seconds, the helicopter’s radar tracker went dark. Because nothing says “everything’s fine” like a military chopper going stealth in one of the busiest airspaces in the country.

The FAA insists the helicopter didn’t stray into newly restricted airspace—put in place after a horrific mid-air collision earlier this year between a commercial plane and another Black Hawk that killed 67 people. 

But that’s cold comfort when you’re a passenger on a plane dodging a military joyride. U.S. Army spokesperson Capt. Victoria Goldfedib told NBC News the chopper was “in accordance with published FAA flight routes and DCA Air Traffic Control,” but an anonymous Army official scoffed at the “scenic” label. Sure, buddy, it was just business as usual, not a Pentagon parade.

Enter Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who is, shall we say, not amused. 

Duffy called the incident “unacceptable” and laid it out plain: “Our helicopter restrictions around DCA are crystal clear. Safety must ALWAYS come first. We just lost 67 souls! No more helicopter rides for VIPs or unnecessary training in a congested DCA airspace full of civilians. Take a taxi or Uber -- besides most VIPs have black car service.” Preach, Sean! He’s vowing to have a come-to-Jesus chat with the Defense Department about “why the hell” the rules were “disregarded.” 

I’d love to be a fly on the wall for that one.

Look, I get it—military helicopters are cool, and the Pentagon’s a big deal. But this isn’t Top Gun. We’re talking about civilian planes packed with families, business travelers, and probably a few folks just trying to get home to their dogs. The skies around D.C. are congested enough without some hotshot pilot turning it into their personal playground. Duffy’s right: if you’re a VIP, call your driver. If you’re training, find a less crowded sandbox. And for the love of all that’s holy, keep your radar on. We’ve got enough drama on the ground without adding near-misses in the air.

If you enjoy my blog, feel free to toss a virtual coffee my way on Buy Me a Coffee – it’s like a high-five with caffeine! No pressure, it's your call.

Tweet