AFT votes to endorse Kamala Harris for president

The AFT has officially endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for president. Delegates from across the nation overwhelmingly voted during a special order of business on Monday, roaring their approval to ratify a resolution passed unanimously by the union's executive council the night before. The AFT is the first union to endorse Harris.

The AFT has long championed the Biden-Harris administration for its support of workers, families, unions and democracy, and supporting Harris is an enthusiastic renewal of that commitment. Union leaders lined up at microphones to express their support, noting Harris' powerful leadership skills, her embrace of accessible healthcare and her commitment to public education and public services, among other attributes they are sure will win her the presidential election.

The resolution notes both Biden's accomplishments as "one of the most consequential and meaningful presidents in our history" and his full support and endorsement of his vice president "to continue to move America forward, unite the party, and defeat Donald Trump."

The resolution also enumerates Harris' impressive record and strength as a candidate. From taking the lead in the administration's fight to restore reproductive freedom, to chairing the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, she has led the fight for freedom to vote, worked hard to cap the cost of insulin and lower prescription drug costs, and worked to pass the first real gun safety law in decades. The resolution notes Harris' decadeslong career as a prosecutor, attorney general of California, senator and vice president, and her record of upholding gun safety laws, protecting clean air and water and advocating for survivors of domestic violence.

As president of the United States, Harris would stand in stark contrast to the Republican candidate, the resolution states. Whereas Harris has championed public schools, investing in mental wellness, career and technical education and community schools, Trump and his secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, "sought to demonize, defund and destabilize" public education. Harris fights for the middle class and as vice president enabled increased wages and economic growth, 15 million new jobs and the lowest unemployment in 50 years; under Trump, the nation lost nearly 3 million jobs, and he cut taxes for the rich and increased them for the middle class.

The Biden-Harris administration made healthcare more accessible by strengthening the Affordable Care Act and negotiated lower prices for prescription drugs; Trump supports Big Pharma and tried to eliminate the ACA.

As AFT President Randi Weingarten said in her State of the Union speech, this election will be a choice between two value systems. And when this moment is recorded in history books, it will record a people united, mobilized and ready to vote for a better future.

[Virginia Myers, photo by Pam Wolfe]