We will oppose vigorously any attempt to divert needed resources into vouchers or other proposals that harm public education. It is important to remember that, while federal funds account for only 6 percent of public education expenditures, federal priorities can have a strong impact on local public education efforts. Campaign Finance Reform Senators McCain and Feingold have promised to press campaign finance reform early in the 107th Congress. Soft money refers to funds raised by both political parties from individuals, corporations and other groups, but, unlike other federal election contributions, these soft money contributions are not subject to any limits . Soft money contributions are then largely transferred to state and local parties for grassroots activities, issue ads and other campaign efforts.
Soft money is considered a major loophole in a very loophole-ridden federal campaign finance law.
The AFT will be working hard to improve a real campaign-financing bill and assure that members are protected. Ergonomics One of the last actions of the Clinton administration was to issue standards to protect workers from repetitive stress injuries. These standards have been developed over 10 years and, when implemented, will protect hundreds of thousands of workers who annually suffer repetitive stress injuries. The business community is gearing up to repeal these standards. The AFT and the entire labor movement is marshalling forces to ensure that the ergonomic regulations stay in force.