AFT press release
Clinton Questionnaire

Questions and Answers Regarding the AFT's Endorsement of Hillary Clinton

Q. Which candidate did the AFT endorse for the Democratic presidential nomination? Why?
Q. Is the endorsement only for the Democratic nomination? What about the general election?
Q. What was the process for determining whom to endorse?
Q. Why endorse anyone in a contested primary with so many qualified candidates?
Q. What will the AFT do to help elect Hillary Clinton?
Q. Is this the earliest endorsement the AFT has made in a presidential primary?
Q. Did the AFT consider any Republican candidates?

 

Q. Which candidate did the AFT endorse for the Democratic presidential nomination? Why?
A. The executive council of the American Federation of Teachers on behalf of its more than 1.4 million members today endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Hillary Clinton has had a 100 percent AFT voting record while serving in the United States Senate. She also has a percent a 93 percent AFL-CIO voting record. The AFT executive council voted to endorse her because of her long history of unwavering support for the issues that matter most to our members and their families.

As a U.S. Senator, as the first lady of the United States, and as a private citizen, Hillary Clinton has been committed to improving the lives of working men and women, children, public services and public education.

But, the most important reason for endorsing Clinton is that our country, now more than ever, needs a strong, capable, committed leader. We believe that Hillary is that leader.

Q. Is the endorsement only for the Democratic nomination? What about the general election?
A. Yes, the endorsement is for the Democratic nomination. The endorsement for the general election will be made by the delegates to the AFT Convention, which will be held in July in Chicago, IL.

Q. What was the process for determining whom to endorse?
A. The AFT has conducted a seven-month deliberative process to assess which candidate would best champion the issues of importance to our members, their families and their communities. The process included asking candidates (both Democratic and Republican) to complete a candidate questionnaire and inviting them to speak before the AFT's executive council. No Republican completed a candidate questionnaire or agreed to speak to the council.

The executive council met with the candidates individually, and carefully analyzed each candidate's record and position on key issues. (Hillary Clinton's responses to the AFT questionnaire can be viewed at http://www/aft/org/youdecide/Questionnaire_clinton.pdf ).

Most important, the AFT asked its members about their priority issues and their opinions of the candidates. This process included polling AFT members; asking members to participate in the AFT's online "You Decide 2008" forum, which was visited 50,000 times; sending members to presidential candidate debates across the country; and finally, arranging for AFT rank-and-file members to directly ask the candidates crucial questions on education, healthcare and how to best handle the war in Iraq.

The AFT executive council considered all of the information gathered during the past seven months in making its decision to endorse Hillary Clinton.

Q. Why endorse anyone in a contested primary with so many qualified candidates?
A. This is not a step the AFT has taken lightly. We have areas of broad agreement with each of the candidates, and believe that many would strongly support and fight for issues important to our members. The endorsement was given only after a thorough process that made it clear that Hillary Clinton earned the support of the AFT.

Q. What will the AFT do to help elect Hillary Clinton?
A. The AFT is proud that its political mobilization program is second to none among the AFL-CIO affiliates. Consistently, more than 70 percent of AFT members support the candidates that the AFT has recommended.

The AFT program is highly effective because it is effective both issues-based and member-based. AFT's program consists of member-to-member communications such as phone banks, work-site leafleting, one-on-one meetings, and slating candidate to run for delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Additionally, the AFT will conduct mailings to members, and use its publications and staff resources to build a stronger issues based campaign among its members. By doing so, AFT will ensure that our members concerns are addressed in this presidential election and that our program will help Hillary Clinton with the Democratic nomination for president.

Q. Is this the earliest endorsement the AFT has made in a presidential primary?
A. No. In fact, the AFT endorsed Al Gore for president in September 1999.

Q. Did the AFT consider any Republican candidates?
A. The AFT only considered those candidates who responded to our candidate questionnaire and to our invitation to meet with our executive council. No Republican candidate completed the questionnaire or agreed to speak to AFT's executive council.

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