by Seth Michaels, Jul 15, 2008

The AFT endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president during its national convention, where more than 3,000 delegates voted overwhelmingly to support Obama. AFT delegates also made history during this year’s convention when they elected three women to hold the union’s top offices, including Randi Weingarten as president.

Outgoing AFT President Edward McElroy says Obama is the right choice for educators and all working families.

Sen. Obama believes, as we do, that our leaders have a responsibility to build the economy, not on the backs of poor and middle-class Americans, but for the benefit and well-being of all. His plans—to replace NCLB with education law that truly helps schools, instead of hurts them; to ensure all Americans have access to affordable, high-quality healthcare; and to bring home American troops as soon as possible—will help usher in a new era of progress and opportunity.

McElroy says the AFT will direct its political efforts this fall toward mobilizing its more than 1.4 million members behind Obama.

We’re proud of our member-driven, grassroots campaign efforts during the primary, and we look forward to mobilizing an expanded effort on behalf of Sen. Obama. AFT members are an electoral force to be reckoned with, and we will prove it again by helping elect Barack Obama the 44th president of the United States.

Last month, the AFL-CIO endorsed Obama and launched a new website, Meet Barack Obama, to educate and mobilize union members. This fall, the AFL-CIO is carrying out an unprecedented grassroots mobilization to elect a working family-friendly Congress and president.

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Paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Political Contributions Committee, www.aflcio.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

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