Educating and communicating through ACE

Key national issues don't pack up and go home during congressional recess. That's why the AFT has launched the Activists for Congressional Education (ACE) program, a new effort to help Congress understand how federal law is really playing in Peoria É in Miami ... in San Francisco É and hundreds of other communities.

Authorized by the AFT's executive council at its February 2005 meeting, ACE is designed to foster more political involvement and help move the union's legislative agenda. The heart of the effort involves a series of meetings between rank-and-file union members and their U.S. senators and representatives—held about twice a year in the states and home districts of the legislators.

In recent weeks, AFT members, joined by local union leaders, have held more than 50 meetings with Democratic and Republican members of Congress and their staffs. They have had frank and informal discussions of issues such as Social Security, the No Child Left Behind Act, and federal support for schools and other vital domestic programs.

"The ACE program is designed on the premise that the union's most effective lobbyists are AFT members who meet with their congressional representatives, develop a relationship with them, and articulate our members' concerns on issues," says John Ost, director of the AFT political and legislative mobilization department. "Elected leaders pay close attention to the views of their constituents—the people to whom they are ultimately accountable."
ACE is a means for creating ongoing relationships between AFT affiliates and national lawmakers. The program initially will focus on key members of congressional committees, Ost says.

A feature article in the October issue of American Teacher will spotlight AFT members who are playing active roles in their local unions' ACE programs.