We have a proud history—but there is still much more

By Edward J. McElroy
AFT President

UNIMAGINABLE. THAT’S HOW a lot of people viewed collective bargaining for public employees in an era when many federal, state and local government employees thought union membership was somehow unprofessional and those who did join a union faced possible termination. Of course, gaining bargaining rights wasn’t an unimaginable goal for the early leaders of our union—it was an imperative.

In this column, my last as president of the American Federation of Teachers before I retire in July, I want to reflect on our union’s proud history of pursuing worthy goals, no matter how seemingly out of reach. And I want to lay out some of the unattained goals we still must achieve.

Consider the kinds of changes that have come about as a result of collective bargaining. We have gone from what the late AFT president Al Shanker called “collective begging” to bargaining with our employers as equals. We have achieved great improvements in pay and working conditions for public employees. And we have done so much more. We have used this process to give government employees a say in decisions that affect them on the job, by making improvements in the delivery of services that shape and build our communities throughout the country. We have been able to take chances and test possible improvements, because collective bargaining provides a safe framework for innovation.

While collective bargaining has provided a way to shape our profession, collective action has provided a way to shape our world. The AFT has used political action and member mobilization to challenge the notion that it is too expensive to provide healthcare to children from low-income families—by arguing that it is too costly not to. The union successfully lobbied for the first increase in the federal minimum wage in more than a decade. We helped thwart plans to privatize Social Security that would have jeopardized the financial security of many of our most vulnerable citizens. The AFT has challenged entrenched regimes across the globe by actively supporting pro-democracy movements like Solidarnosc, and vigorously opposing malevolent systems like apartheid.

There is much more to do, of course; change is not easy. If it were, collective bargaining would be the law in all 50 states, and the situation of workers here and abroad would be much improved. But collective action has allowed us to do what some never could have imagined. We must press for collective bargaining rights in states where they are denied, and we must tap the full potential of those rights where they do exist.

What are the equivalent challenges of our day—goals that are vitally important but currently out of reach? Widespread access to high-quality healthcare? Universal early childhood education, regardless of family income? Appropriate funding to meet the goals of quality services to the public? Recruitment and retention programs that meet the needs of our members and the institutions where they work? Establishing trust in government to help build our communities and protect our democracy? While I will watch with great interest, and participate as a retiree and activist, these determinations will be made by new national AFT leaders and by members like you.

I cannot leave this post without thanking and expressing admiration for my fellow national officers, Nat LaCour and Antonia Cortese. It has been my honor to have worked alongside and shared many great experiences with Nat for more than 30 years. I remain inspired by his dedication to our members and to our cause. Nat also provides some of the best company I could ever hope for. He too will retire in July, and I wish him abundant happiness in his retirement. I am grateful that Toni, with whom I have been proud to serve these last four years, will stand for re-election as a national officer. She is a thoughtful, talented and devoted champion of public schools and a visionary when it comes to helping them reach their full potential.

AFT members will elect a new president at our convention in July. I have every confidence that my successor will lead our union to take on the challenges ahead—no matter how intractable they seem—to bring about a better reality for our members and the people you serve. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as a vice president, as secretary-treasurer for 12 years and as your president for the past four years. It has been an honor.