Mobilization key to ebbing partisan policy agenda

What was a difficult legislative climate in Washington, D.C., will turn considerably more challenging in the wake of the 2002 midterm elections.

Democrats lost control of the Senate, and with it a critical check on the partisan domestic agenda advanced by Republican leaders. Almost certainly waiting in the wings of post-election Washington are stepped-up efforts to weaken labor rights, to thwart meaningful healthcare reform, to appoint ultraconservative federal judges, and to promote tax cuts at the expense of fiscal responsibility and needed programs.

"It's going to be considerably more difficult but that's not to mean that it's impossible. But the AFT will do whatever it takes to mobilize for the fights ahead," says Charlotte Fraas, AFT legislation director. She notes that bipartisanship still has a fighting chance because Senate rules can require the approval of 60 lawmakers for controversial legislation to move ahead. A key will be helping the Senate solidify and stiffen its resistance to reckless, damaging and partisan proposals that will surface in the current climate.

"AFT members must be prepared to help us in this environment," she stresses. "There will be critical battles and key votes ahead where lawmakers who are fighting the good fight and supporting AFT positions will need to hear from our members in the field."
 

Bright spots

There were several major wins for the union in the midterm elections. AFT affiliates across New Jersey helped rally veteran Democratic lawmaker Frank Lautenberg to victory in a hotly contested Senate race.

Also, many affiliates were active in gubernatorial campaigns that produced historic wins. In Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, former U.S. representative, became the first Democratic governor in 26 years, thanks to solid support from AFT affiliates across the state.

James Dougherty, president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, says that AFT affiliates and labor have stepped up political action dramatically in recent years, and those efforts have paid off. Affiliates helped spearhead aggressive get-out-the-vote drives, local phone banks and other grassroots efforts to make members' voices heard at all levels of government.

"We had a breakthrough and our membership understands they have a role to play in the political process," he says. "We think the members who were involved [in the successful 2002 effort] will come back next time--and bring their friends."

Republican George Pataki enjoyed strong support from the New York State Public Employees Federation, an affiliate of AFT Public Employees, winning a decisive victory to a third term in the state's gubernatorial contest.

The widely watched Pennsylvania gubernatorial race was decided in favor of the AFT-backed candidate: Democrat Ed Rendell, the former Philadelphia mayor.

AFT political action also helped Jennifer M. Granholm become Michigan's first woman governor and the first Democrat to win the office in more than a decade.

And in New Mexico, former U.S. representative Bill Richardson posted a decisive victory with the help of AFT affiliates. The win was particularly sweet for AFT members throughout the state because Richardson's GOP predecessor vetoed an extension of collective bargaining rights for teachers and other public employees, explains Christine Trujillo, president of the New Mexico Federation of Educational Employees/AFT.

The new governor, Trujillo notes, "has made a public pledge that the first act he will sign is a restoration of public employee bargaining rights. And, because we made a concerted effort, most of our friends are back [in the state Legislature] and chomping at the bit."