AFT

About AFT

The American Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for its students, their families and the communities they serve. The AFT is committed to advancing these principles through community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through the work its members do.

Membership

The American Federation of Teachers was founded in 1916 and today represents over 1.7 million members through its more than 3,000 local affiliates nationwide. There is an AFT presence in nearly every state of the U.S. including Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The AFT represents preK-12 teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel, higher education faculty and professional staff; early childhood educators; charter school employees, federal, state, and local government employees; and nurses and other healthcare professionals.

Community

The AFT has a long and proud tradition of fighting for social justice and human rights issues through vibrant community partnerships. Supporting organizations and causes that go hand in hand with the union’s mission and goals to ensure that every American has access to high-quality public education, healthcare and public services, which are the gateways to social and economic justice, the anchors of democracy and the promise of our country is at the heart of the AFT’s work. Our members and their unions do amazing work every day, not only on the job, but also in their communities. As a union, we care, we fight and we show up. We are educators, nurses and health professionals, and public service employees because we care for others—for our students, our patients and the public we serve. We fight for great public schools, for economic opportunity and security. We fight for healthcare so nobody is one illness away from bankruptcy and for a secure retirement. We fight for our democracy and for a society that is safe, welcoming and sane and that means fighting against hatred and bigotry in all forms. We fight for jobs, justice and freedom for all. And we show up. We show up for one another, for our communities and at the ballot box

Leadership

Randi Weingarten
President

Fedrick C. Ingram
Secretary-Treasurer

Evelyn DeJesus
Executive Vice President

NHCSL BBA Contact

Cesar Moreno Perez
Associate Director, Human Rights and Community Relations
cmoreno@aft.org

Learn More

Learn more about AFT's Leadership, follow AFT on Twitter and Facebook, and visit AFT.org.