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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2006
Contact:
Nathan James, Yes on 82
310-786-7441 - office
206-313-1673 - cell
AFL-CIO Endorses Proposition 82
Statewide Labor Federation Joins Broad-Based Coalition to Provide Quality Preschool to All Four-Year Olds and Strengthen K-12 Schools
SAN FRANCISCO – The California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO voted to endorse Proposition 82, the Preschool for All initiative, at its pre-primary convention today. The Federation, which acts as the umbrella organization for more than 1,200 affiliated unions representing 2.1 million members, is supporting the initiative because it will ensure that all children enter school ready to learn and help them learn to read. AFL-CIO is the latest addition to a broad-based, bipartisan coalition of teachers, business groups, law enforcement leaders, and elected officials supporting Prop. 82 on the June primary election ballot.
“The California Labor Federation is standing behind Prop. 82 because it will strengthen our schools and ease the burden on working families by making quality preschool programs voluntarily available to everyone,” said Art Pulaski, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Labor Federation.
“We are tremendously excited to have the backing of the Labor Federation,” said Rob Reiner, co-chair of the Prop. 82 campaign. “Organized labor has been a driving force in California to support candidates and ballot initiatives that benefit working families. We look forward to working with AFL-CIO and its members to pass Prop. 82 and improve the lives of California’s children.”
The endorsement by AFL-CIO adds momentum to the Prop. 82 campaign and comes a week after AFSCME announced its support for the preschool initiative. SEIU, California’s largest labor union, endorsed the initiative last year. In addition, the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers are backing the education measure; together these groups represent more than 400,000 classroom teachers.
Prop. 82 has also built a strong base of support in business community. In an unprecedented alliance, three of the California’s largest chambers of commerce – Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland -- are standing with the state’s largest labor organizations in support of Preschool for All.
For more information about Proposition 82, visit: http://www.YesOn82.com.