The AFT, which has endorsed President Obama for re-election, is urging members to become Educators for Obama to make sure that the union’s priority issues are at the forefront of his re-election campaign.
Obama is fighting for educators. In his State of the Union speech, he exhorted the nation to “stop bashing” teachers and stressed the need to “stop teaching to the test.” During his term as president, Obama kept more than 300,000 educators where they belong—with their students. He proposed targeting additional funds to stave off another round of devastating cuts of tens of thousands more educators. And just recently, he urged Congress to take action to put teachers back to work in their classrooms, stating: “The best predictor of individual and American success in this economy is a good education.”
(Read a message from Jill Biden launching the Obama campaign’s Educators for Obama program.)
Republican candidate Mitt Romney, on the other hand, continues to promote a view of America that differs greatly from the vision of those concerned about economic and educational fairness. In fact, Romney recently said we have too many teachers, police officers and firefighters.
These are not minor differences. Obama understands that a good education and a strong economy are connected. Re-electing him will move our country forward. We can work with him to restore a strong middle class and a strong economy, and to ensure that everyone has a fair shot at achieving the American dream.
