David J. Quolke

David J. Quolke is an Ohio-based former teachers union official1 and Democratic Party organizer. 2 Quolke was the vice president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) union from July 2012 to July 20201 and the president of the Cleveland Teachers Union (CTU) from 2008 until April 2020. 3

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At-A-Glance

Occupation: Activist, Board Member or Executive
Issue Areas: Labor Policy, Education Policy
Residence:

North Royalton, Ohio

Contents

    Quolke was a national co-chair of Educators for Biden during the 2020 election cycle. 2 Following the 2020 presidential election, he claimed that teachers got President Joe Biden (D) elected. 4

    Quolke has shared posts5 in support of the far-left Black Lives Matter movement on Twitter,6 co-signed a letter classifying critical race theory-inspired racial equity as “the great unfinished work of the country,”7 and shared links to critical race theory-inspired “anti-racist reading lists for children and adults,” 8 which included the controversial 1619 Project. 9

    Career

    David J. Quolke was vice president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) labor union from July 2012 to July 2020. 1

    While at AFT, Quolke has shared posts5 in favor of the far-left Black Lives Matter movement on Twitter6 and supported the president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers in calling for a declaration that racism constitutes a “public health crisis.” 10 Quolke also co-signed a letter in support of student activists that calls critical race theory-inspired racial equity “the great unfinished work of the country”;7 refers to certain instances of police use of force as “modern-day lynchings”; claimed the response to the death of George Floyd was peaceful and nonviolent; and accused then-President Donald Trump (R) of making a “health, economic, and justice system crisis” worse by directing police to fire rubber bullets and tear gas into crowds of protestors and proposing deploying military to “quash protests.” 7

    Quolke also shared links to a critical race theory-inspired “anti-racist reading lists for children and adults.” 8 The lesson, hosted by an AFT-backed website, includes links to the controversial 1619 Project along with other critical race theory-inspired works. 9

    From 2008 to April 2020, Quolke was the president of the Cleveland Teachers Union (CTU), a branch of the Ohio Federation of Teachers3 in Cleveland, Ohio. 11 12 Under his “progressive leadership,” 12 CTU received $300,000 from the AFT Innovation Fund and worked to implement federal government-imposed Common Core education standards. 12

    Prior to joining union leadership, Quolke was a teacher in the Cleveland School District 1984 to 2008. 1

    Quolke has been on the board of other labor union organizations including the North Shore Federation labor union; the Ohio American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO); and Ohio 8, a coalition of superintendents and teacher union presidents in Ohio. 12 He was a trustee of the left-of-center United Labor Agency,13 which was formed by the Cleveland AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers (UAW), and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) to address social issues outside of collective bargaining agreements. 14

    Political Activities

    David J. Quolke was a national co-chair of Educators for Biden with Marisol Garcia, vice president of the Arizona Education Association. 2 In this position, Quolke endorsed the Biden campaign,15 attended phone banks,16 17 organized campaign events18 and rallies,19 and hosted an online early vote drive with then-candidate Biden’s wife, Jill Biden,20 on September 21, 2020. 20

    On November 7, 2020, Quolke stated teachers “got Joe Biden elected” and cheered the prospect of having Jill Biden in the White House as First Lady. 4

    As a union activist, Quolke was steadfast in his support for unionization of charter school educators in Cleveland. 21 During the 2016 presidential campaign, Quolke attacked then-candidate Donald Trump’s decision to cancel a visit to a Cleveland charter school with unionized teachers and visit another institution instead. 22

    Political Contributions

    Quolke has made Federal Election Commission-reportable contributions to the Democratic Party political candidates, labor union political action committees, campaign committees, and Democratic-affiliated pass-throughs such as ActBlue 11 times since 2006. 23 Quolke has supported the Ohio Democratic Party, American Federation of Teachers union, AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education, the campaign of Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and the Congressional campaign of former House member and current Ohio District Court of Appeals judge Betty Sutton (D). 23

    Personal Life

    David J. Quolke is married and has one daughter. 1224 He attended Cleveland State University12 and   resides in North Royalton, Ohio. 1

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    References

    1. “David Quolke.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-quolke-7909b84/.
    2. Dubin, Jennifer. “Educators affirm their support for Biden.” American Federation of Teachers. Meeting readout. August 19, 2020. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.aft.org/news/educators-affirm-their-support-biden.
    3. O’Donnell, Patrick. “Coalition urges the sponsor of the Horizon Science Academy charter schools to pull support by Feb. 1 deadline.” January 28, 2015. Updated January 12, 2019. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2015/01/coalition_urges_the_sponsor_of_embattled_horizon_science_academy_charter_schools_to_pull_support_by_feb_1_deadline.html.
    4. Tweet. David Quolke Twitter. November 7, 2020. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://twitter.com/DavidQuolke/status/1325135344132644864.
    5. Tweets. David Quolke Twitter Page. Retweets Dated June 1 and June 2, 2020. Accessed August 25, 2021. https://twitter.com/davidquolke.
    6. Tweet. David Quolke Twitter Page. June 2, 2020. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://twitter.com/DavidQuolke/status/1267964333562224642.
    7. “A Message to Our Students from America’s Educators.” American Federation of Teachers. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.aft.org/message-our-students-americas-educators.
    8. Tweet. David Quolke. June 26, 2020. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://twitter.com/DavidQuolke/status/1276555433361190916.
    9. Delaguia, Ami Turner. “An Anti-Racist Reading List for Children and Adults.” AFT Share My Lesson. June 22, 2020. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://sharemylesson.com/blog/anti-racist-reading-list?utm_campaign=Share&utm_medium=Social
    10. Tweet. David Quolke Twitter. June 10, 2020. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://twitter.com/DavidQuolke/status/1270740248918659072.
    11. McCafferty, Rachel Abbey. “New President at the Cleveland Teachers Union.” Crain’s Cleveland Business. March 16, 2020. Accessed via Web Archive. August 24, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20201028030623/https://www.crainscleveland.com/education/new-president-cleveland-teachers-union.
    12. “David Quolke.” National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.nbpts.org/board/david-quolke/.
    13. “ULA – 2017 Board of Trustees.” United Labor Agency. Accessed August 24, 2021. http://ulagency.org/board-of-trustees/.
    14. “ULA History.” United Labor Agency. Accessed August 24, 2021. http://ulagency.org/home-nav/about-ula/.
    15. Tweet. David Quolke Twitter. October 11, 2020. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://twitter.com/DavidQuolke/status/1315239868155359233.
    16. Tweet. David Quolke Twitter. October 31, 2020. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://twitter.com/DavidQuolke/status/1322603485913821187.
    17. Tweet. David Quolke Twitter. October 23, 2020. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://twitter.com/DavidQuolke/status/1319745426975842306.
    18. Tweet. David Quolke Twitter. November 2, 2020. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://twitter.com/DavidQuolke/status/1323303687821922305.
    19. Tweet. David Quolke. September 21, 2020. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://twitter.com/DavidQuolke/status/1308087803901865985.
    20. “Ohio Educators for Biden Early Vote Rally with Jill Biden.” Virtual Campaign Rally. Educators for Biden. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.mobilize.us/joebiden/event/327906/?referring_vol=1733135&rname=David%20&share_context=signup-form-modal&share_medium=twitter&timeslot=2226596.
    21. “Educators at Cleveland Charter School Win Union.” Press Release. American Federation of Teachers. February 1, 2017. August 24, 2021. https://www.aft.org/press-release/educators-cleveland-charter-school-win-union.
    22. “AFT Leaders on Donald Trump’s Education Speech.” Press Release. American Federation of Teachers. September 8, 2016. https://www.aft.org/press-release/aft-leaders-donald-trumps-education-speech.
    23. “David Quolke.” Federal Election Commission of the United States. Searchable Reporting Database. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=david%20quolke.
    24. “David Quolke.” LinkedIn Profile Post. Posted in 2020. Accessed August 24, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/david-quolke-7909b84_congrats-alexa-activity-6663525109275389952-jmq7/.