Presidential hopefuls answer members' questions.

Five candidates meet with union leaders during May meeting

Jim Close has already tuned into the race for the White House—the 2008 presidential election.

“How can you not help but pay attention to what they say because they are all out there campaigning?” asks Close, adding that he thinks “it is obvious that presidential politics influences individual workers, particularly in the public sector.”

As an environmental program specialist in the bureau of air quality analysis and research at the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, Close knows firsthand that federal policy and budget decisions affect his job.

“A major part of our funding comes from the federal government,” Close notes, adding that many air quality programs are mandated under the federal Clean Air Act, which delegates responsibility for implementation to the states.

When the candidates speak, Close is listening. And one thing this New York State Public Employees Federation member wants to know is each candidate’s position on the war in Iraq.

“The war in Iraq is such a huge drain on our resources, siphoning billions of dollars away from programs—and that directly affects our jobs,” says Close.

So when the AFT asked members as part of its You Decide 2008 program “What question do you want the presidential candidates to answer?” Close responded.

His question: The current administration has entangled the United States in a war in Iraq that seems to have no end. At the same time, domestic programs that receive federal funding are being cut. How will you end the conflict in Iraq, at what cost, and when?

“What other question is more important than that? People wonder why funding is being cut for this program or that program and they are not making the connection,” says Close. “The money is being redirected to the war in Iraq.”

Close’s question resonated with members. More than 2,000 votes were cast online over a few days to determine the winning questions—and Close’s was one of them.

Allan Grant, a kindergarten teacher from Education Minnesota-Osseo, and Richard Charap, a math teacher from the United Federation of Teachers in New York City, were the other question contest winners.

Grant’s question: How will you assist states in providing quality early childhood education programs for all children so that they can begin school ready to learn?

Charap’s question: How will you ensure that our healthcare, pension and our right to be part of a union and negotiate fairly with our employer are protected and preserved?

Presidential hopefuls answer AFT members’ questions

Close, Grant and Charap got answers from five presidential hopefuls during the May 15-16 AFT executive council meeting at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md.

The candidate visits were part of the AFT’s extensive process of screening presidential hopefuls before deciding whether to make an endorsement in the presidential primaries. (See related story on this page.)

The five candidates who met with the council during the May meeting were: Sen. Joseph Biden Jr. of Delaware, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

On the question of Iraq, Close says Sen. Biden’s response “set the bar pretty high. He was very prescriptive and specific. He was very detailed about what he would do and how he would do it,” says Close.

A general message of all the candidates, Closed noted, was that “the money we would save in Iraq would be put toward domestic programs.”

Candidate remarks, including video clips of their answers to the AFT members’ questions, will be available on the You Decide Web page (www.aft.org/youdecide).

‘You Decide 2008’

The subject of unions and politics often stirs debate.

As the voice of workers, union involvement in the political process is a necessity—some would say it is the union’s representational duty, in fact, to educate members about candidate attitudes and track records on issues related to the work of union members and workers’ rights and benefits.

Close knows that some union members think a question about Iraq is inappropriate in a union setting, and that a union’s parameters should be defined by issues relating to terms and conditions of employment.

For those members, Close hopes they will stand back and look at the bigger picture. “Terms and conditions of employment are being influenced by macro political forces—things like the Iraq war are influencing” public employees’ jobs.

After the May council meeting, the role of unions in presidential politics was “self-evident,” says Close.

“We are an organized body of 1.4 million members. You would not have had all those candidates coming up to Silver Spring if the AFT did not represent 1.4 million workers, most of whom are registered voters. So there is power there.

“It was self-evident that all these candidates showed up and wanted to hear from us. They would not give up an hour of their time to let me ask a question if I was not part of this larger organization.”

It is up to each union member to decide what issues are most important to them.

At press time, the You Decide section of the AFT Web site had more than 50,000 visitors. Twenty-five hundred visitors have registered their opinions about the most important issues facing our country, of which 250 are currently posted.

The You Decide section was launched earlier this year as part of the AFT’s presidential election endorsement procedure. In addition to providing information about the presidential hopefuls, the section allows the AFT to hear what’s on the minds of members.

The union’s endorsement process has several components. In addition to candidate invitations to address the executive council and meet with AFT president Edward J. McElroy and other vice presidents, candidates also are asked to complete questionnaires.

It’s a process Close welcomes. “My general response to people who express apathy and say they are not going to vote is: Silence is complicity,” says Close. “You can’t be uninvolved. You have to take sides.”