President Biden cancels appearance at education conference in Philadelphia due to strike

President Joe Biden will not speak at the National Education Association conference this weekend after the organization’s staff announced a strike on Friday and the association subsequently suspended its programs.

Biden’s campaign said he still plans to travel to Pennsylvania, but did not provide further information.

The logistical change comes as Biden had hoped to make a series of media appearances and events following calls for him to drop out of the presidential race this week. An interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC, his first television interview since the debate, was scheduled to air Friday night after Biden held a rally in Madison, Wisconsin. He had then planned to speak at the conference at the Convention Center in Philadelphia on Sunday alongside First Lady Jill Biden.

The National Education Association Staff Organization represents the staff who work for the union, which is the largest teachers’ union in the country.

NEASO announced Friday that it is on strike against unfair labor practices (ULP) at NEA headquarters in Washington, DC, and has filed two ULP complaints with the National Labor Relations Board.

The NEA said in a statement: “We have worked in good faith to develop a proposal for our NEASO staff to address their expressed interests while ensuring the long-term health of our organization and the needs of our members. We will respect our staff’s picket lines. In the end, we are confident there will be an agreement that ensures we continue to fulfill our mission and support our members.”

The conference, which began Thursday, was expected to attract 7,000 participants to Philadelphia. The national president, Becky Pringle, is a North Philadelphia native and graduate of Girls’ High School.

Biden has long boasted that he is the most pro-union president ever. In September, he became the first sitting president to join a picket line and march with autoworkers near Detroit.

Editors Maddie Hanna and Fallon Roth contributed to this article.