Lenny Sapozhnikov, AFL-CIO deputy state director for Pennsylvania, recently talked with Ted Kirsch, president of AFT in Pennsylvania. Kirsch has served as president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT), AFT national vice president, director of the PFT’s Committee on Political Education and is chairman of the Jewish Labor Committee of Philadelphia. He also was vice president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, secretary-treasurer of the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO and former president of the Pennsylvania Labor History Society. (Check out another recent labor leader of the week feature here: Michael Munger, president of United Steelworkers Local 1660.)  

Q: AFT Pennsylvania runs a particularly effective political program. What are some of the keys to success? (See video.) 

Kirsch: In the 2006 election, AFL-CIO exit polling informed us that AFT-PA had 81 percent of our member vote, an astronomical figure when you take into account the turnout among the general public. We take pride as a union in a number of efforts that we made to get us to that level and to be victorious for our candidate. We encourage all of our local unions to get involved and to communicate with their members. As a statewide organization, we did mail, developing our own mail, both positive and some negative pieces. We also did stuffers for local unions to distribute at the workplace. We know from polling that receiving information at the workplace is one of our most effective methods of communication with our members. Most important of all is person-to-person contact. When people take a position or come out as volunteers, it’s because someone asked them. If there is any activity that will help develop a political program, it is the individual member-to-member program. 

Q: Tell us about the active role that retirees play in your political program? 

Kirsch: Retirees are a core part of our political program. They were a part of our union when they were active members and many of them are looking for something to do now that they are in retirement. At AFT-PA, we have developed a political corps of retirees who work during the day to contact fellow retirees. They enjoy the camaraderie and they are without question our best workers in our political campaigns. I have to mention just one caveat: You must feed them. Feed them and they will come—and they are terrific! 

Kirsch grew up in Philadelphia and was educated in the Philadelphia public schools. Both of his parents were trade unionists. His began his career in 1960, teaching social studies at Thomas Junior High School. He was the first teacher in the city to teach African American history as a major credit course, and he has taught courses on labor history, collective bargaining and theory of the labor movement at Penn State University. Kirsch was elected union representative in 1965 while teaching at Overbrook High School. He joined the federation’s Executive Board two years later and served as a staff representative from 1970 through 1981. In 1983, Kirsch was elected vice president and supervised all aspects of the union as PFT director of staff until his election as president in 1990.

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