Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers during a town hall with 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and members of the American Federation of Federation of Teachers, in Philadelphia, PA, on May 13, 2019 As a growing number of companies are requiring employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the president of the American Federation of Teachers union said on Sunday that she personally supports a vaccine mandate for educators."Vaccines are the single most important way of dealing with COVID.