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Lawrence Teachers 1000 360

PreK-12 Teachers

More than 1 million members strong, the AFT's Public Education unit has become a major force for preserving and strengthening a national commitment to reclaiming the promise of American education. It all began more than 100 years ago: A group of Chicago teachers, reasoning that theirs was a noble profession, organized themselves to share resources and build respect for the invaluable work they were doing. Those early efforts led to the birth of a national teachers union in 1916 that has been in the vanguard of every major advancement in American public education ever since.

Fac Fed 1000 360

Higher Education

The AFT represents higher education faculty (including both full- and part-time), professional staff and graduate employees, in all sectors of higher education—public and private, two-year and four-year institutions of higher education. The AFT Higher Education division's mission is to help our affiliates and their members prosper in the face of political, economic and technological forces challenging the most basic assumptions about the union's role on campus.

MLSA 1000 360

Public Employees

As a union of professionals, AFT Public Employees division is committed to improving the quality of government services we provide to our communities. Reclaiming the promise of high-quality public services is about fighting for first-rate public services that our support communities and keep them safe, healthy and vibrant. It’s about fighting to ensure that our communities’ tax dollars are properly invested back into the community, and that those resources are used responsibly and safely. Finally, it’s fighting to make sure public employees are well-prepared and supported so they can provide our communities with the high-quality services the public needs and deserves.

NB PSRPs

Paraprofessionals & School-Related Personnel

The AFT has organized paraprofessionals and school-related personnel since the early 1930s, when the first PSRP affiliate, the Education Secretaries of Chicago, was founded. Today, the AFT PSRP division sets a foundation for high-quality education by supporting meaningful professional development, promoting health and safety in the workplace, and demonstrating the importance of a strong and just work ethic in a bully-free environment. Most important is its commitment to safe and welcoming schools and colleges for students who deserve high-quality food programs; reliable school buses; clean, secure buildings; efficiently run offices; and well-trained staff.

Summer Organizing Institute: Meeting the Moment, Building the Movement

SOI 2025 Facebook

Summer Organizing Institute (SOI) is our union’s deep organizing space to build the skills we need to win for our members, students and families in the classroom and beyond. From bargaining strong contracts, building strong school-site union structures and taking our movement to the streets in this critical time— we must be ready. Join us for SOI 2025: Meeting the Moment, Building the Movement, August 13-14th (9-2pm) at the Boston Teachers Union.

Whether you are a brand new building rep or activist learning the basic building blocks of organizing or a seasoned union leader looking to bargaining your strongest contract ever, these two days are for you. If you’d like to build the cross-labor and community power to win elections and fight back attacks in our communities— these two days are for you.

The Summer Organizing Institute works best when attending with a cohort from your union local. Whether that be new building reps, your contract action team and/or bargaining committee, executive committee, etc. So please, send this invitation around and give us a call to talk about how this Institute can work for different groups of your membership. The BTU has plenty of parking and is also conveniently located near the JFK/UMass Red Line. If we’re lucky for some sunny days, bring that beach towel and enjoy Carson Beach and a visit to Castle Island!

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RECAP: 2025 AFT Massachusetts Lobby Doy

UTL Lobby Day 2025

In an effort to strengthen our collective power and build upon the tremendous wins we’ve seen at the state and local levels in terms of public education and the labor movement, the AFT Massachusetts hosted its first ever Statewide Advocacy Day at the Massachusetts State House on June 25.

Over 150 teachers, paraprofessionals, librarians, higher ed faculty, and retirees came out for a successful day of advocacy and relationship-building – within our union, with our allies, and with leaders on Beacon Hill. It was a wonderful demonstration of our strength and commitment to strengthening public education throughout the Commonwealth.

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