Week of Nov 13, 2000

* Labor Has Critical Role in Election Day Turnout and Margins
* Democrats Gain Senate Seats
* Voucher Measures, 'Paycheck Deception' Defeated
* AFT Crucial to Key House Races
* Federal Needlestick Safety Act Signed into Law
* D.C. Nurses End Strike, Win New Contract
* Where and When

Note: Because of the Veteran's Day holiday, "Inside AFT" is being transmitted on Nov. 9

LABOR HAS CRITICAL ROLE IN ELECTION DAY TURNOUT, MARGINS

Although the continuing vote count to determine Florida's electoral votes left the presidential race in doubt as "Inside AFT" was transmitted, there was no doubt about the critical role labor played in turning out the vote and providing the margin of victory in key races across the country Nov. 7. From coast to coast, working families backed candidates for office who support their issues and interests. They rejected initiatives to privatize education and to lock them out of the political process. It's also likely that labor's role on behalf of endorsed presidential candidate Al Gore may have been key to Gore winning the popular vote nationwide.

Thousands of AFT activists and volunteers were among those who mounted an unprecedented effort in educating members about candidates and issues, distributing literature, talking to colleagues on the phone and at work sites, and getting out the vote on Nov. 7. And even though business contributions produced a 17-to-1 spending advantage over unions, labor's effort proved that it takes more than money to win an election. The AFL-CIO reports that some 100,000 union members volunteered their time at work sites, phone banks and in precinct walks. Political union activists registered 2.3 million new union household voters, made 8 million phone calls to union households and distributed more than 14 million leaflets at their workplaces.

Exit polls show that labor union households made up 26 percent of voters--up from 23 percent in 1996 and 1998. And a poll of union members by Peter Hart Research Associates indicated that union members supported the Gore-Lieberman ticket by a margin of 63 percent to 32 percent. The survey also shows that union members supported Vice President Al Gore because of his stand on the issues that matter to them--the economy, health care, and Social Security--not on personality or partisanship.

In Michigan and Pennsylvania, two key battleground states reporting tight presidential and congressional races well after the polls closed, 42 percent and 30 percent, respectively, of the voters were from union households.

DEMOCRATS GAIN IN SENATE RACES

You can hang a sign outside the Senate chamber door that reads, "Open for bipartisan business only." Thanks to some key wins in the Nov. 7 election, U.S. Senate Democrats reached near-parity with their GOP counterparts. Strong labor and minority turnout sparked victories that all but erased the 54-46 GOP Senate advantage. Depending on late vote counts, the parties will be split evenly in the Senate or, at most, the GOP will hold a 52-48 advantage. The shift in power means that bipartisan support for legislation becomes even more critical: Under Senate rules, bills must enjoy the support of 60 or more lawmakers or face certain death in the legislative process.

In Missouri, Delaware, Florida, and Michigan, Democrats picked up seats held by GOP in the past congress. The lone Republican pickups came in Nevada and Virginia, where Democratic incumbent Charles Robb lost narrowly to former governor George Allen. The GOP mounted vigorous challenges but failed to take Democratic seats in New York and New Jersey. (The race in Washington state was too close to call as Inside AFT was transmitted.)

One of the sweetest wins for an AFT-backed candidate came in New York. First lady and Democratic Senate nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton rolled to victory over U.S. Rep. Rick Lazio in a race that some pundits had pegged "too close to call" only hours before the polls opened. Clinton’s sizeable margin of victory--12 percentage points--was paced by impressive get-out-the-vote efforts from AFT local and state affiliates. In other key races, labor was the difference in a dramatic Senate win in Michigan by Debbie Stabenow, who was trailing GOP incumbent Spencer Abraham by double-digit margins in the weeks leading up to the election. Stabenow captured victory by about 60,000 votes out of 3 million cast, despite being outspent by more than a 2-1 margin in the race. The Florida seat left open by retiring Sen. Connie Mack jumped into the Democratic column thanks in large measure to hard work by AFT members to get out the vote on behalf of Democratic candidate Bill Nelson, Florida’s Insurance Commissioner. Finally, one of the most poignant wins for Democrats came in Missouri. when voters chose Democrat Mel Carnahan, the popular governor who was killed in a plane crash just three weeks before the election but whose name remained on the ballot. Carnahan’s widow, Jean, said she would accept an appointment to the Senate if voters selected her late husband’s name on the ballot over incumbent GOP senator John Ashcroft. That’s exactly what happened, thanks in large part to a strong labor turnout throughout the state. Ashcroft has indicated he will not challenge the results.

VOUCHER MEASURES, 'PAYCHECK DECEPTION' DEFEATED

Closely watched ballot initiatives for school vouchers in California and Michigan failed to win voter approval Nov. 7, yet again confirming that Americans reject vouchers at the expense of public schools. In California, Proposition 38 would have funded vouchers of at least $4,000 to pay for private school tuition, including tuition paid to religiously affiliated schools. In Michigan, Proposal 1 would have provided vouchers of more than $3,000 to children in school districts where at least two-thirds of entering students fail to graduate. The voucher initiatives, financed in California by venture capitalist Timothy Draper and in Michigan by Amway founder Richard DeVos, were decisively rejected by 2-to-1 margins. The defeat of both voucher initiatives "mark the ninth and tenth consecutive defeats for vouchers by American voters," says AFT president Sandra Feldman. "The results must serve as a mandate for improving our public schools and not for false solutions such as vouchers." Significantly, an ABC News exit poll conducted on Election Day shows little appetite for vouchers as well. When asked what the federal government's priority should be when a public school is failing, an impressive 78 percent of voters said the priority should be to "fix that school's problems," while only 16 percent responded that it should "help parents pay for private school."

In other state initiatives, there was more good news. In Oregon, several "paycheck deception" efforts to silence unions were defeated. Measure 92 would have would have applied to all workers in the state and banned the use of payroll deduction for any kind of political activity without annual written permission; Measure 98 would have banned any use of payroll deduction for political activities even if an employee has given his or her written permission. Both were soundly defeated. In other ballot issues, class-size reduction passed in Washington and education funding measures passed in Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and California. In Washington state, a measure to authorize charter schools was defeated 52 percent to 48 percent. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who is also an investor in Edison, largely financed the Washington initiative.

AFT BACKING CRUCIAL TO KEY HOUSE RACES

In California, AFT-backed candidates won in two House races that generated national interest. State Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat, was running in the 27th District against incumbent Rep. Jim Rogan, a conservative who, as a House prosecutor, zealously pursued President Clinton during the impeachment proceedings. With conservative money flowing to Rogan from across the country, and Schiff keeping up his fund-raising end of the contest, the race broke all records, costing more than $10 million. Schiff, a former U.S. attorney, adjunct college professor and AFT member, took 52.8 percent of the vote to Rogan's 43.8 percent. In the 15th District, two-term state assemblyman Mike Honda, a Democrat, was running against Republican Jim Cunneen for the seat vacated by Rep. Tom Campbell in his failed bid to reach the U.S. Senate. Honda, also an AFT member, took 54 percent of the vote to Cunneen's 42 percent.

In other House races of interest, in Connecticut, Rep. James Maloney (D-5th District), facing a rematch with his 1998 opponent Republican Mark Nielsen, won reelection by a swift nine-point margin. Maloney, the AFT-endorsed candidate, defeated Nielsen, despite his opponents reported cash advantage in the closing weeks of the race. Illinois Democratic incumbent Rep. Lane Evans defeated challenger Republican Mark Baker by a significant 9 percent advantage, defying what observers tagged as a tight race. Evans, who was first elected to the seat in 1982, is a long-time champion of the issues important to AFT's K-12 members, as well as those working in higher education.

In Minnesota, Democrat Betty McCollum's impressive win over Republican Linda Runbeck is a victory for AFT. McCollum, who won the seat of the late Rep. Bruce Vento, was a high school teacher before she was elected to state office in 1992. In New Jersey, Republican challenger Dick Zimmer narrowly defeated AFT-backed candidate, incumbent Rep. Rush Holt. Just 56 votes determined the outcome of this race. And in Utah, first-time candidate Democrat Jim Matheson beat another first-timer, Republican Derek Smith, by an overwhelming 14 percent margin. Matheson, the AFT-supported candidate, won the seat of two-term Republican congressman Merrill Cook, who did not seek reelection. Matheson's victory splits the state's House delegation two Republican to one Democrat.

FEDERAL NEEDLESTICK SAFETY ACT IS SIGNED INTO LAW

The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act was signed into federal law Nov. 6 by President Bill Clinton at a brief White House ceremony. The AFT's Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, which was instrumental in its passage, was represented by FNHP division director Mary Lehman MacDonald at the ceremony. "This is an important piece of legislation that will save lives," says MacDonald. "It's tremendous victory for health care workers." The act was lobbied for heavily by the AFT and was supported by "health care workers and their unions, as well as a bipartisan group of members of Congress," said the president. It amends the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's blood-borne pathogens standard to include safer medical devices. Such devices might include engineered protections and needleless systems. The act will also require certain employers to review exposure control systems; maintain an injury log; and get input from health care workers. Estimates for all health care settings are that 600,000 to 800,000 needlestick and other sharps injuries occur among health care workers annually.

DCNA NURSES SETTLE STRIKE

Nurses at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., following a six-week walkout, hunger strike and acts of civil disobedience that resulted in the arrest of AFT president Sandra Feldman and others, reached agreement on a new contract Nov. 6. More than 1,000 nurses, represented by the District of Columbia Nurses Association (DCNA), had been out on strike since Sept. 20 over issues like forced overtime and patient care decision-making power. The AFT had supported the DCNA nurses from the start by walking their picket lines, contributing money to their strike fund and, finally, through acts of civil disobedience. In solidarity with nurses who had just begun a hunger strike on the hospital picket line, Feldman, AFL-CIO president John Sweeney, ANA president Mary Foley, United American Nurses/ANA chairperson Cheryl Johnson and others were arrested as they stood in the middle of the hospital's main road on Nov. 3. A tentative contract settlement was reached that weekend. The new contract limits mandatory overtime and gives them the right to refuse in the case of fatigue, illness or extenuating circumstances; gives nurses seats on hospital committees that relate to patient care practices and policies; establishes a weekend staffing program to ensure appropriate staffing levels seven days a week; and gives the RNs a wage increase of 14 percent over three years.

WHERE AND WHEN…On Nov. 14, AFT president Sandra Feldman will chair the Albert Shanker Institute board meeting in Washington, D.C. Nov. 15, she will be visiting Bureau of Indian Affairs schools in New Mexico, including the Jemez Day School, the Torreon Day School and the Pueblo Pintado Boarding School, all in pueblos near Albuquerque. On Nov 16, she will deliver the keynote address to the AFT state federation presidents' conference in Santa Fe. She will then meet with employees of the Northern Pueblos Agency near Espanola, N.M. The latter consists of the non-education related employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, who comprise about 50 percent of the BIA. AFT secretary-treasurer Edward J. McElroy Nov. 15-18 Ed will be at the AFT State Fed. Presidents' Conference in Santa Fe Nov. 15-18; on Nov. 19 he will address annual convention of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers in Alexandria, La.

American Federation of Teachers, AFL•CIO - 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW - Washington, DC 20001