Where We Stand: Fighting for Our Children's Future

SINCE THE ELECTION, we’ve all been wondering how to explain the results. Did Donald Trump reclaim the White House because of gender divides? Swaying young voters? Culture wars? Winning more of the Hispanic vote? Elon Musk? Podcasts? The manoverse? All may have been factors, but we know that the economy was top of mind for most Americans—and that when voters feel the cost of housing, gas, or eggs is too high, they traditionally punish the incumbent party. Despite the Biden-Harris administration’s economic successes and Kamala Harris’s proposals to address the cost-of-living crisis, in the end, she could not overcome the fear and anxiety working families felt.

The Biden-Harris administration guided the country to the strongest post-COVID economy in the world. Wages are up, inflation has cooled, and most economic indicators are improving, yet many Americans are still feeling the aftershocks of the pandemic (and even the 2008 recession). The bottom line is that everyone is an expert on their own experience, and when people suffering economic stress hear how “good” the economy is, they feel gaslit and forsaken.

In the months leading up to the election, I crisscrossed the country, talking to people about their hopes and concerns. Many felt a loss of control and that things were getting worse, reflecting a long-standing trend: the percentage of Americans earning more than their parents has been steadily decreasing over the last 80 years, inflicting psychic wounds on a country that long believed each generation would do better than the last.

Trump tapped into that anxiety and promised voters that if they returned him to the White House, “inflation will vanish completely.” Yet most mainstream economists say that Trump’s proposals won’t conquer inflation, they will make it much worse.

Trump made gains with the majority of Americans who are not college graduates. Sixty-two percent of adults in the United States haven’t completed a bachelor’s degree, but that shouldn’t mean the American dream is out of their reach. The AFT is working to transform high schools and community colleges so all young people have pathways to highly skilled, high-wage careers right out of high school. Eighty-two percent of voters support increasing government funding for skills training, and career and technical education programs are popular with both Democratic and Republican leaders, so it’s no wonder that Trump has made project-based learning, apprenticeships, and career counseling a big part of his education program.

Americans support the two engines of opportunity at the core of our union—the labor movement and public education. Voters approved school funding measures across the country, and they rejected or repealed school voucher proposals everywhere they were on the ballot. Americans don’t need a strongman promising to “fix” their lives. They need a great education and a union contract so they can get ahead, build the middle class, and ensure that communities can rise together.

We’re going to stay focused on what’s good for kids and families—not labels or ideologies. That’s why the AFT will be fighting for common-sense solutions for a better life for America’s working and middle classes, striving to ensure that all of God’s children are treated with respect and dignity, and working for safe and welcoming schools and for an economy that benefits all, with lower everyday costs. We will be advocating for people to ensure they have decent healthcare, wages, and retirement security, and are able to take care of their families—with childcare, paid leave, and home care for elderly parents. We will be fighting to strengthen public schools, for a new deal in higher education, and for the right of Americans to belong to a union. And, as this issue of American Educator shows, we will be champions of our youth’s mental health and well-being. Our students are struggling to recover from the pandemic, develop meaningful relationships, and prepare for an uncertain global future. The articles in this issue show us how to help students heal and give them hope.

I worry about the country slipping backward to another Gilded Age, but I know our country can move forward to ensure every American can have a pathway to a better life. I know that the members of the AFT—educators, healthcare professionals, and public employees—will continue doing everything they can to make a difference in the lives of the people they serve. Our guiding principle remains fighting for our children’s future and the promise of America.