Citing President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s “powerful promise of hope and their sound solutions to the country’s most vexing problems” as the keys that helped them win the nation’s trust and confidence, AFT President Randi Weingarten congratulated the winning candidates on their extraordinary Nov. 4 election victory.
“So much about this campaign has been historic and electrifying,” Weingarten said. “The incredible voter interest Barack Obama generated, especially among young, independent and first-time voters; the sea change in voting patterns across America; and the election of America’s first African-American president are all extraordinary milestones for our country. I am hopeful that this civic excitement and engagement will be sustained for the benefit of our great democracy.
“At a time when the focus on strengthening public education has been all but eclipsed by other issues, Sen. Obama has shown both deep understanding of, and real interest in, the need to ensure every child receives a world-class education. The members and leaders of the AFT welcome President-elect Obama’s commitment to working together to strengthen public education. We look forward to partnering with him and with members of both parties to fulfill this promise.”
The AFT’s political operation in the 2008 elections was unprecedented. The union deployed nearly 600 full-time campaign coordinators and 5,000 volunteers to assist affiliates and the AFL-CIO in member-education and get-out-the-vote efforts. Since endorsing Sen. Obama at its national convention in July, the AFT made more than 4 million contacts with its membership, including phone calls, mail, leaflets and—the means of communication proven to be most effective—direct member-to-member contact at home and at the workplace.
“We were in more states, with a greater presence, than ever before. And it worked,” Weingarten said. “I saw this firsthand in the 18 states I have visited since becoming AFT president in July.”
States with a strong AFT and union presence made a decisive difference in the elections, not only in choosing the next president, but also in giving him a Congress to work with that will champion the concerns of working people and will support public education and other vital public services.
“Barack Obama will be a president for all Americans,” Weingarten said. “For Americans from every state in the Union, for those who enjoy great wealth as well as those who suffer terrible want, for Americans of every color, creed and walk of life. This is the time for our country to come together in common purpose to create a better life for all Americans.
“President-elect Obama faces considerable challenges—a severe economic crisis, a broken healthcare system, the needs of an aging population, enormous infrastructure strains and American troops engaged in two wars. But he is welll-equipped to lead our country, which is unparalleled in its ability and determination to face such challenges.”
From AFT Release
5 Comments:
1 Edublogosphere Space Reacts to Obama Victory | 2tor, Inc.
· Nov 5, 2008 at 7:15 pm
[...] Edwize, AFT’s Education Blog, has a post with their President Randi Weingarten’s comments on the election, hailing Obama’s election in much the same way the rest of the country is. Notable considering the role the AFT seems to have played in the election [...]
2 R. Skibins
· Nov 6, 2008 at 5:47 pm
It is such a relief that our current national nightmare is coming to an end. However, a new nightmare may be around the bend. I just read that Joel Klein is being considered for the post of Secretary of Education. Having Klein as our Secretary of Education would ensure the destruction of our public schools nationwide, with rampant age discrimination, mismanagement, and the unrelenting scapegoating of public school teachers for all ills, real and imaginary. I urge the UFT to oppose Klein being elevated to this post. I urge a letterwriting campaign and the UFT and AFT to lobby against Joel Klein. OLur very survival is at stake.
3 Poll Shows Key Role of Union Vote in Election | Edwize
· Nov 14, 2008 at 3:02 pm
[...] its part, the AFT deployed nearly 600 full-time campaign coordinators and 5,000 volunteers to assist affiliates and the AFL-CIO in member-education and get-out-the-vote [...]
4 Jessica Harvey
· Nov 15, 2008 at 11:48 am
I am not sure what is going on here…Joel Klein is being considered for secretary of education, and Randi Weingarten has not spoken out publicly against it? I have looked for ways to contact her or other UFT leaders about this and the ways to contact you have been taken down. Information is not on EdWise, not on the UFT site to speak of, not on the AFT site to speak of, and I am concerned the union is squashing the voice and dreams of members in this case instead of helping to be that voice. I worked hard to get Obama elected in order to make a change for this country and its children. Joel klein is a terrible choice and the union knows this. Where is the UFT? We need to take a stand together!
5 Docent
· Nov 15, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Schools will re-open on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 after the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. Two significant things will be happening on that day, one nationally, the other statewide. Nationally, it will be the historic inauguration of our first African-American President, Barack Obama. Statewide will be the administration of the ELA exam to school students in grades 3-8 throughout the state. I’m writing to ask if this test date can be pushed for an official start on the 21st in light of this historic national event. In this way, school children throughout the state can be apart of the nation’s history, their history being made. How can we get our elected officials to support and past this mandate for this one unique and exciting time in our nation’s history?