American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten titled her keynote address at this year’s convention “Building Our Power to Create a Better Future.” But after listening to the speech, one was left to wonder: A better future for whom? Conspicuously absent was any serious discussion of how teachers might educate students better than they do now. Teachers unions might consider how to help students improve their reading and math skills, for example, but they don’t.

The conference heard plenty about what the union was doing for teachers, including helping to secure $78 billion in student loan bailouts unavailable to other college graduates. They also heard about union strikes that secured higher pay in Boston, lower healthcare premiums in San Francisco, and paid parental leave in Chicago.