As the new president of the 1.3 million-member American Federation of Teachers, Edward J. McElroy promises to advance the 鈥渟ame important causes鈥� championed by his two immediate predecessors.
But under that new leadership, in what amounts to a shift in stance, the nation鈥檚 second-largest teachers鈥� union also will challenge provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The 3,000 delegates at this year鈥檚 convention almost unanimously chose Mr. McElroy this month to fill the position left open by Sandra Feldman, who announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election because of her ongoing battle with breast cancer. She had succeeded the late Albert Shanker in 1997.
| Voices from the AFT鈥檚 convention:
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Ms. Feldman threw her support behind Mr. McElroy, who as secretary-treasurer has been second in command since 1992.
鈥淎l and Sandy devoted their great intellect and energy to the AFT, and we have an obligation to continue their work,鈥� he said in his speech to union delegates July 17. 鈥淎nd we will. We are all part of the same team.鈥�
Goals Challenged
But Mr. McElroy, 63, also spoke about additional challenges ahead for the union, including taking a more critical view of the No Child Left Behind Act. He called the law鈥檚 goals 鈥渁rbitrary and unattainable.鈥�
鈥淲e are going to work to correct the defects in this law,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to throw the baby out with the bath water, but we definitely want to get rid of the dirty bath water.鈥�
AFT members showed that they agreed with him by approving a resolution, sponsored by the union鈥檚 executive council, that calls upon either the U.S. Department of Education or Congress to 鈥渁lter the unreasonable rules and regulations and implement the improved rules consistently.鈥�
Playing on the name of the law, the 鈥淢oving Every Child Forward鈥� resolution calls the act鈥檚 鈥渁dequate yearly progress鈥� provisions 鈥渘either research-based nor scientifically reliable and valid.鈥� It declares that the goals of the law have been undermined by 鈥渢wo years of inept and opportunistic implementation by President Bush鈥檚 Department of Education.鈥�
While the AFT had no formal position on the legislation when it passed with broad, bipartisan support in 2002, union leaders had expressed optimism about the law鈥檚 potential to improve schools. In contrast, the larger National Education Association has been fighting the law from its beginnings.
But now the AFT is focused on changes it contends would help the law live up to its potential. 鈥淭his resolution represents a strong new 鈥� policy for the AFT telling what should be done鈥� to fix the law, said Tom Mooney, the president of the Ohio affiliate.
Education Department officials, however, said the AFT鈥檚 resolution missed the point.
鈥淟et鈥檚 face it: The point of the law is the child, not the system,鈥� said Susan Aspey, a spokeswoman for the department. 鈥淲e鈥檙e only two years into fixing systemic public education problems that have been 40-plus years in the making.
鈥淚n the past, we just threw money at the problem. Now, we鈥檙e demanding results for the taxpayers鈥� hard-earned billions,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he law鈥檚 flexible, and the guidance and regulations we鈥檝e issued over the past year prove it.鈥�
Not surprisingly, union delegates overwhelmingly threw their support to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, who has vowed to fully fund the federal law that was one of President Bush鈥檚 major legislative victories.
鈥淧eople who talk about values, morals, and personal responsibility ought to start by keeping their own promises to America,鈥� the Massachusetts senator, who voted for the measure in 2001, told the delegates when he addressed them July 16. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to make these reforms work.鈥�
鈥楽top This Exodus鈥�
In addition to working for additional funding and revisions to the federal law, Mr. McElroy pledged to make teacher retention a focus of his two-year term. Stagnant salaries are one reason educators are leaving the profession, he said, referring to the results of the union鈥檚 annual teacher-salary survey released during the July 14-17 convention.
Average salaries for teachers across the country have increased 3.3 percent, to $45,771, according to the state-by-state survey. Beginning salaries have also inched up 3.2 percent鈥攆rom $28,661 during the 2001-02 school year to $29,564 in 2002-03.
But any extra money that teachers see in their paychecks is being swallowed up by rising out-of-pocket costs for health benefits, the survey shows. Over that same time, the amount teachers paid for health-insurance coverage increased 13 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The results of the AFT鈥檚 salary survey show that teachers in California earned the highest average pay, $55,693. Michigan, Connecticut, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Pennsylvania rounded out the top 10.
Teachers in South Dakota earned the lowest average pay, $32,414, with Oklahoma, Mississippi, and North Dakota also in that range.
But other factors are contributing to teachers鈥� departures, Mr. McElory said, including 鈥渦nrealistic expectations鈥� placed on them and 鈥渋nadequate supports.鈥�
鈥淲e have got to stop this exodus from public education,鈥� he said. 鈥淎fter all, the conditions that are good for teachers, that keep them in the classroom, are good for their students as well.鈥�
Mr. McElroy has been on the AFT executive council since 1974. In 2001, he was also elected to the executive council of the AFL-CIO, the umbrella group for organized labor, with which the AFT is affiliated. A former high school English and social studies teacher in Warwick, R.I., Mr. McElroy was president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers.
Part of the Team
Delegates at the convention said they were confident of Mr. McElroy鈥檚 ability to lead the union.
鈥淗e knows leaders [around the country] on a close-up, personal basis, and he鈥檚 been part of the team that has created a vision over a 30-year period,鈥� said Herbert Magidson, a vice president of the AFT who has held union posts in New York City and state.
And Shirley Verdugo Perez, a first-time delegate from the Chicago Teachers Union, said Ms. Feldman 鈥渨as a great step-in for Shanker. I鈥檓 sure Ed McElroy will be a great step-in for her.鈥�
But they also said that Ms. Feldman would be missed.
鈥淪he has a global view,鈥� Mr. Magidson said. 鈥淪he sees us as connected not only to organizations of teachers and other professionals, but she sees connections between worker rights and freedom. She saw the value of looking at the needs of workers on a global scale.鈥�
In a tribute to Ms. Feldman, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., told AFT members during the convention that he has introduced the Kindergarten-Plus Act of 2004. The bill, which calls for $1.5 billion to help states pay for the program, would give disadvantaged children early entrance to kindergarten. It is modeled after a proposal Ms. Feldman announced at the 2002 AFT convention.
Currently being used in the Las Cruces, N.M., school district, Kindergarten-Plus seeks to narrow the achievement gap by adding instructional days in the summer for eligible children before the school year begins and after it ends.
鈥淐hildren and their developing minds are our more important resource for the future, and it is critical that we provide all children with a solid educational foundation to help them bloom and grow,鈥� Mr. Dodd told the delegates. 鈥淪andy Feldman鈥檚 commitment to this cause has been remarkable, and I am proud to have worked on this legislation with such a distinguished advocate for education.鈥�
Improving early-childhood education for children from poor families has been a top priority of Ms. Feldman鈥檚 presidency.
鈥淔rom coast to coast,鈥� she told AFT members in her farewell speech, 鈥淎FT is fighting not just for equitable school financing, but for funding for what we know works, especially for poor children鈥攕maller classes, quality preschool, better-prepared teachers, extended time.鈥�
Accountability Measures
In other business, the delegates readily approved changes to the union鈥檚 constitution and bylaws designed to head off financial misdeeds such as the ones that last year rocked affiliates in Miami-Dade County, Fla., and the District of Columbia. In both instances, top local leaders were found to have stolen or otherwise mishandled millions of dollars, threatening their organizations鈥� solvency.
The changes strengthen requirements for affiliate financial reviews, streamline the process by which the parent union can take over a local when the local鈥檚 assets or vital records appear to need protection, and tighten requirements for being an AFT affiliate in good standing.
For instance, a local union would not be allowed to slip more than two months behind in paying its members鈥� national dues and must have a current audit on file with the AFT. Neither United Teachers of Dade nor the Washington Teachers Union would have met those standards before the breakdowns in those locals.
The new accountability measures add to the ones instituted last year by the national union鈥檚 executive council.
But the earlier changes, unlike the ones adopted at the convention, did not require amending the union鈥檚 constitution, which can be done only at a national convention.
鈥淭he goal is to make it so that union leaders are fully accountable to their members and operate with the utmost degree of transparency,鈥� said AFT spokes-man Alex Wohl.
Delegates also chose other leaders during the convention.
The third member of Ms. Feldman鈥檚 leadership team, Nat LaCour, was elected to fill Mr. McElroy鈥檚 position as secretary- treasurer. The former president of the AFT鈥檚 affiliate in New Orleans, Mr. LaCour has been the executive vice president since 1998.
Antonia Cortese, the first vice president of the New York State United Teachers, was elected executive vice president, the union鈥檚 No. 3 position.
