Correction: We hate the teachers’ union.

(Washington Times) — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. told the country’s largest teacher’s union Tuesday that the Republican party, led by presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, doesn’t respect them.

“The fact of the matter is, we have a fundamentally different view. [Romney] doesn’t think that you all know much about to educate. His allies characterize you as not caring about students, but caring about yourselves,” Mr. Biden said in a speech at the National Education Association’s annual conference. As the largest labor union in the nation with more than 3 million members, the NEA is a key constituency for Mr. Biden’s and President Obama’s re-election hopes.

Mr. Biden found a friendly audience among NEA members, many of whom wore “Educators for Obama” T-shirts and chanted “four more years” as the vice president finished his remarks.

The speech was a key opportunity for Mr. Biden to rally big labor, which is still reeling from a crushing defeat in last month’s attempt to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. The first-term Republican drew the ire of the NEA and other unions after implementing limits to the collective bargaining rights of state workers, including teachers.