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- Take Action
Take Action: Make your voice heard
Make your views known to those in Congress and state legislatures who represent you on the issues that affect working families every day. Click here to visit the AFT's Legislative Action Center.
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Article
- About Us
History of the AFT
Learn the history of the AFT, including the union's founding in Chicago in 1916, its affiliation with the AFL-CIO, its battles for workers and human rights and its continued work to uphold the proud traditions on which the union was created.
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Article
- About Us
AFT Mission Statement
The mission of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, is to improve the lives of our members and their families, to give voice to their legitimate professional, economic and social aspirations, to strengthen the institutions in which we work, to improve the quality of the services we provide, to bring together all members to assist and support one another and to promote democracy, human rights and freedom in our union, in our nation and throughout the world. --From the Futures II report adopted at the AFT Convention, July 5, 2000.
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- News
Tips from public employees on mobilizing members
When the president of Colorado WINS learned that the president of the United States might be targeting Denver next in his anti-immigration campaign of terror, she knew how she’d begin to mobilize. One simple thing Diane Byrne does is deck out her activists in matching T-shirts. Wearing union colors promotes team spirit and builds confidence, she says. The AFT Public Employees program and policy council, meeting in New York City Feb. 5-6, abounded with tips to help locals mobilize. PPC chair Gary Feist, president of North Dakota Public Employees, recommended finding members who can tell a personal story to draw
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Article
- News
All the resources you need on immigration and ICE
Federal immigration actions are rapidly expanding, with deadly consequences. The killings of poet Renee Nicole Good and nurse Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis have brought intense focus on the use of excessive force. An AFT webinar, co-hosted by AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang on Jan. 28, featured experts on immigration and the law. It highlighted AFT resources and showcased how our locals are showing up to minimize fear and trauma.
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- News
Smears vs. solutions
Summer is upon us, and parents, children and teachers are winding down from what has been an exhausting and fully operational school year—the first since the devastating pandemic. The long-lasting impact of COVID-19 has affected our students’ and families’ well-being and ignited the politics surrounding public schools. All signs point to the coming school year unfolding with the same sound and fury, and if extremist culture warriors have their way, being even more divisive and stressful.
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Article
- News
In defense of public education
Attacks on public education in America by extremists and culture-war peddling politicians have reached new heights (“lows” may be more apt), but they are not new. The difference today is that the attacks are intended not just to undermine public education but to destroy it.
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Article
- Member Benefits
AFT PLUS Member Benefits
AFT PLUS is the name of the member benefit programs available to AFT members and their families. Many of the programs are provided through Union Privilege, the benefit arm of the AFL-CIO; others are unique to AFT and are coordinated directly through AFT PLUS. Explore the site and learn more about the savings and services available to you as a union member. Click here to learn more about AFT PLUS Member Benefits.
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Article
- About Us
About the AFT
Learn more about the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which was founded in 1916 to represent the economic, social and professional interests of classroom teachers and is an affiliated international union of the AFL-CIO.
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Article
- Scholarships
Scholarships for AFT Families
Along with our union siblings, the AFT Massachusetts is committed to supporting the next generation of trade unionists to build a stronger tomorrow for all working families of the Commonwealth. That’s why we award thousands of dollars in scholarships each year to eligible high school seniors who are dependents of AFT Massachusetts members. Scholarship awards are based on an applicant’s results on a labor history exam administered by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and honor former AFT leaders Kathy Kelley, Albert Shanker, and Sandra Feldman, and long-time field representative Jay Porter. The labor history exam focuses on teaching our children about the
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Annual Paraprofessional and School Related Personnel Conference
to
Boston Teachers Union Hall
180 MT. Vernon Street
Dorchester, MA 02125
United States
Article
- News
Major Push for Thrive Act Underway—Member Action Critical to Success
The bill, An Act Empowering Students and Schools to Thrive (or the Thrive Act, for short), would equip local communities with the tools and resources that students and schools need to succeed, and dramatically reduce the harm caused by the high-stakes, punitive use of standardized tests, such as state takeovers and denying students high school diplomas. “This bill is about lifting up students, lifting up schools, and lifting up communities,” says Kontos. “And it’s about freeing students and educators from the shackles of punitive, high-stakes standardized testing. Like the Student Opportunity Act, the key to victory will be grassroots advocacy
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