Top national officers reelected, recommit to Real Solutions

On the final day of the AFT convention, delegates reelected Randi Weingarten as president, Fedrick C. Ingram as secretary-treasurer and Evelyn DeJesus as executive vice president. Additionally, 43 vice presidents were elected to the union's executive council.

DeJesus expressed her gratitude to the delegates for reelecting the "A-Team" and highlighted the union's accomplishments since the last convention. She mentioned the creation of task forces, meetings with local leaders and members, and the distribution of 10 million books. DeJesus emphasized the AFT's commitment to finding real solutions for children, communities, higher education, healthcare and public employees. She concluded with a call to action, urging delegates to support Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

Ingram also thanked the delegates and delivered an inspiring message. "Remember that our best days are ahead. Excellence is our weapon of choice. We must vote and vote and vote. We must be fierce and philosophical. We must be intense but intelligent." He added that the AFT must take calculated risks-not cowardly caution-to organize and negotiate. "As long as politicians are involved in education, education must be involved in politics," said Ingram. "And let me tell you, as I used to say in Florida, if a politician goes after my job, I will certainly go after theirs."

In her acceptance speech, Weingarten expressed her honor and gratitude to the delegates. "I want to thank all of you. These are the best of times and the worst of times. You saw and I saw the electricity when Harris announced her candidacy," she said. The electricity in the convention center was also palpable, said Weingarten, pointing out that the AFT was the first union to endorse Harris.

She then posed a series of powerful questions to the delegates asking if they cared about a number of things from making people's lives better to public education to the freedoms we need to protect and grow. Weingarten concluded with a rallying cry: "If we care about all these things, are we going to do everything we can for our union, our families, our communities and our country in the next 103 days?"

To which the crowd responded with a resounding, "Yes!"

[Adrienne Coles/photo by Pam Wolfe]