THE BAKKE DECISION AND RACIAL QUOTAS

WHEREAS, the American Federation of Teachers recognizes that there has been a long history of racial discrimination in this country that has prevented minorities from reaching their fullest potential; and

WHEREAS, the AFT pressed hard to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act as legislative landmarks in an historical turning point in this nation's commitment to "equal protection under the law" for all races and ethnic groups; and

WHEREAS, the expansion of job opportunities and the extension of education benefits to all, regardless of race or economic resources, are basic affirmative action strategies for which the AFT has long been com­mitted; and

WHEREAS, true disadvantage is usually caused by a combination of circumstances which include economic, social, geographic, ethnic and racial factors that can only be judged as they apply to each individual case; and

WHEREAS, the special admissions program of the Davis Medical School at the University of California constructs different standards for different racial and ethnic groups, and sets aside a specific number quota and percentage quota of student places to be awarded on the basis of group racial or ethnic characteristics rather than individual merit; and

WHEREAS, the implementing of such programs by universities and the pressure to create them by governments represent an attempt to divert attention from their responsibilities to fund recruitment programs, remedial education programs and adequate public education at all levels; and

WHEREAS, the University of California's program, which applies lower and separate standards to minority stu­dents than to other students, has been challenged by non-minority applicant Allen Bakke as being dis­criminatory, and that challenge has been upheld by the California Supreme Court; and

WHEREAS, preferential treatment ultimately stigmatizes the very ones it is designed to help by branding their achievements second class, thus becoming racist in effect if not in intent; and

WHEREAS, eighty-three percent of the American people-including sixty-four percent of non-whites oppose preferential treatment in recognition that it constitutes unequal treatment; and

WHEREAS, the adoption of quota policies inevitably means the abolishing of seniority for teachers and other educational personnel, causing a loss of jobs for many who now have them:

RESOLVED, that the AFT redouble its efforts to promote affirmative action programs that provide remedial education to those who need it, that erase discriminatory barriers where they still exist, that open up job opportunities at every social and economic level and that enable all of today's parents to raise their children in an atmosphere characterized by broadened opportunities; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT continue to promote the Recruitment and Training Program, which qualifies minority applicants for entry into the building trades, and career ladder programs which enable paraprofessionals to become fully certified teachers, as well as compensatory education, in-service training, retraining, good-faith recruitment efforts and job counseling and placement programs in preparation for all types of work as examples of the best in affirmative action; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT continue to reject quota policies which violate the very meaning of "equal protection" by prescribing remedies for discrimination that are themselves discriminatory; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT reaffirm its commitment to the principle that seniority be the basis for job retention in times of layoff and retrenchment, and that this be applied equally to all employees whatever their race or sex; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT strengthen its support for economic policies that will expand the number of jobs so that layoffs need never occur and that will broaden educational opportunities for all, since scarcity exacerbates competitive conflict among individuals and groups; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT inform all teachers and give wide publicity to this position on equal rights for all as against the NEA's pro-quotas position which is inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States and does not represent the interests or the views of teachers.