View source for American Federation of Teachers

{{Short description|Labor union for education workers}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox organization
| name                     = American Federation of Teachers
| location_country         = United States
| members                  = 1.7 million
| logo                     = American Federation of Teachers logo.svg
| native_name              = 
| upright                  = 0.7
| logo_alt                 = The lowercase letters A F T set in cursive script inside a blue shield shape.
| image                    = 
| founded                  = {{Start date|1916|04|15}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Report of the Commissioner of Education Made to the Secretary of the Interior for the Year|date=1918|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=107}}</ref>
| abbreviation             = AFT
| predecessor              = American Federation of Teachers and Students
| affiliation              = [[AFL–CIO]], [[Education International]], [[Public Services International]]
| dissolved                = 
| merged                   = 
| headquarters             = Washington, D.C.
| key_people               = [[Randi Weingarten]], president
| website                  = {{official url}}
| footnotes                = 
}}
The '''American Federation of Teachers''' ('''AFT''') is the second largest teacher's [[trade union|labor union]] in America (the largest being the [[National Education Association]]). The union was founded in [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]]. [[John Dewey]] and [[Margaret Haley]] were founders.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cI0ZBQAAQBAJ&dq=american+federation+of+teachers+was+founded+by+john+dewey&pg=PT303|title = Building Teachers: A Constructivist Approach to Introducing Education|isbn = 9781285530116|last1 = Martin|first1 = David Jerner|last2 = Loomis|first2 = Kimberly S.|date = June 25, 2013| publisher=Cengage Learning }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZlZAAAAYAAJ&q=%22american+federation+of+teachers%22+%22dewey%22+%22founder%22|title = American Flint|year = 1968}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Lasley, II|first1=Thomas J.|last2=Hunt|first2=Thomas C.|title=Encyclopedia of Educational Reform and Dissent|date=2010|publisher=SAGE|isbn=9781412956642|page=56}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Margaret Haley (1861–1939) |encyclopedia=The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia| first=Daniel| last=Golodner| editor1-first=Andrew R.L.| editor1-last=Cayton| editor2-first=Richard| editor2-last=Sisson| editor3-first=Chris| editor3-last=Zacher| date=2006|publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana| isbn=978-0-253-34886-9| page=1332}}</ref>

About 60 percent of AFT's membership works directly in education, with the remainder of the union's members composed of [[paraprofessional]]s and school-related personnel; local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff, and nurses and other [[healthcare professional]]s.<ref name=arnesen/> The AFT has, since its founding, affiliated with [[trade union federation]]s: until 1955 the [[American Federation of Labor]], and now the [[AFL–CIO]].

==History==
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----
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AFT was founded in [[Chicago, Illinois]], on April 15, 1916. Charles Stillman was the first president and Margaret Haley was the national organizer. On May 9, 1916, the American Federation of Labor chartered the AFT. By 1919, AFT had 100 local affiliates and a membership of approximately 11,000 teachers, which amounted to 1.5% of the nation's teaching force. In its early days, AFT distinguished itself from the [[National Education Association]] (NEA) by its exclusion of school administrators from membership. Facing opposition from politicians and boards of education, membership in AFT declined to 7,000 by 1930. During this period, the organization had little impact on local or national education policy.<ref name=arnesen>{{cite book|last1=Arnesen|first1=Eric|title=Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working-class History, Volume 1|date=2007|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780415968263|pages=87–90}}</ref>

AFT membership climbed during the [[Great Depression]], reaching 33,000 by 1939. During the 1930s, AFT, whose members had historically been primary school teachers, saw influential college professors join the union. Also during the 1930s, the [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party]] gained influence within the AFT.<ref name=arnesen/> In 1941, under pressure from the AFL, the union ejected three local unions in New York City and Philadelphia (including its prominent early member, the New York City [[Teachers Union]], AFT Local 5) for being communist-dominated. The charter revocations represented nearly a third of the union's national membership.<ref name=battleground/>

The 1940s were marked by a series of teacher [[Strike action|strikes]], including 57 strikes that occurred from 1946 through 1949. By 1947, AFT had a membership of 42,000. The 1960s and 1970s also saw numerous teacher strikes, including 1,000 strikes involving more than 823,000 teachers between 1960 and 1974.

AFT membership was 59,000 in 1960, 200,000 in 1970, and 550,000 in 1980.<ref name="arnesen" /> In 2017, membership was around 1.6 million, and the union had due income of $35 million.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.aft.org/about/financial|title=Financial Statements|date=2014-09-08|work=American Federation of Teachers|access-date=2018-07-08|language=en}}</ref>

Since 1977, AFT has published a quarterly magazine for teachers covering various issues about children and education called ''[[American Educator]]''. In 1998, the membership of the NEA rejected a proposed merger with AFT. The AFT's membership is half that of the NEA.<ref name=arnesen/>

==Presidents of the AFT==
;Albert Shanker
In 1974, [[Albert Shanker]] was elected president of AFT. He served in this role until his death on February 22, 1997.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|last1=Potter|first1=Halley|last2=Kahlenberg|first2=Richard|title=The Original Charter School Vision|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/opinion/sunday/albert-shanker-the-original-charter-school-visionary.html?_r=0|access-date=14 September 2015|work=New York Times|date=August 30, 2014}}</ref> For 27 years, Shanker wrote a weekly column entitled "Where We Stand" that ran as an advertisement in ''The New York Times''. Shanker was an early advocate of [[charter schools]].<ref name=nyt/> He also called for a national competency test for teachers, merit pay for teachers, and more rigorous requirements for high school graduation.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Berger|first1=Joseph|title=Albert Shanker, 68, Combative Leader Who Transformed Teachers' Union, Dies|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/24/nyregion/albert-shanker-68-combative-leader-who-transformed-teachers-union-dies.html|access-date=14 September 2015|work=New York Times|date=February 24, 1997}}</ref> During his tenure as AFT president, Shanker was jailed twice for leading illegal strikes.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Fiske|first1=Edward|title=Albert Shanker: Where He Stands|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/05/education/profile-albert-shanker-where-he-stands.html|access-date=14 September 2015|work=New York Times|date=November 5, 1989}}</ref>

;Sandra Feldman
[[Sandra Feldman]] served as AFT's president from 1997 to 2004. Feldman helped craft the [[No Child Left Behind Act]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Berger|first1=Joseph|title=Sandra Feldman, Scrappy and Outspoken Labor Leader for Teachers, Dies at 65|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/nyregion/sandra-feldman-scrappy-and-outspoken-labor-leader-for-teachers-dies-at-65.html|access-date=14 September 2015|work=New York Times|date=September 20, 2005}}</ref>

;Edward J. McElroy
[[Edward J. McElroy]], the AFT's secretary-treasurer since 1992, was elected president of the AFT in 2004, replacing Feldman.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Greenhouse|first1=Steven|title=Teachers' Union President to Step Down; New Yorker Is Seen as Successor|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/education/13teachers.html|access-date=14 September 2015|work=New York Times|date=February 13, 2008}}</ref> On February 12, 2008, McElroy announced he would retire at the union's regularly scheduled biennial convention in July. On July 14, 2008, [[Randi Weingarten]] was elected to succeed him.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Green|first1=Elizabeth|title=Obama Tells Teachers Union He Opposes Vouchers|url=http://www.nysun.com/new-york/obama-tells-teachers-union-he-opposes-vouchers/81801/|access-date=4 February 2015|publisher=New York Sun|date=July 14, 2008}}</ref>

;Randi Weingarten
On July 14, 2008, [[Randi Weingarten]], then the president of the [[United Federation of Teachers]], was elected to succeed McElroy as AFT president. In September 2008, she announced the launch of the AFT Innovation Fund, a union-led, private foundation-supported effort to provide grants to AFT unions to develop and implement innovations in education.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mathews|first1=Jay|title= American Federation of Teachers Announces Innovation Fund|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/03/AR2009050301872.html|access-date=18 June 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 4, 2009}}</ref> In 2014, Weingarten announced that AFT was ending a five-year funding relationship between the [[Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]] and the AFT Innovation Fund.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Emma|first1=Caitlin|title=Exclusive: AFT shuns Gates funding|url=http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-education/2014/03/exclusive-aft-shuns-gates-funding-success-academy-lawsuit-simmering-defenders-of-the-common-core-feds-grant-california-a-testing-pass-212543|access-date=15 September 2015|publisher=Politico|date=March 10, 2014}}</ref>

==Political activities==
Since 1980, AFT and the NEA have contributed nearly $57.4 million to federal campaigns, an amount that is about 30 percent higher than any single corporation or other union. About 95 percent of political donations from teachers unions have gone to Democrats.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brill|first1=Steven|title=The Teachers' Unions' Last Stand|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/magazine/23Race-t.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=15 September 2015|work=New York Times|date=May 17, 2010}}</ref>

In 2008, AFT provided a campaign contribution of $1,784,808.59 to [[Hillary Clinton]] and $1,997,375.00 to [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Independent Expenditures Supporting/Opposing 2008 Presidential Campaigns|url=http://www.fec.gov/press/press2008/2008indexp/2008iebycommittee.pdf|publisher=FEC|access-date=15 September 2015}}</ref>

In July 2015, AFT endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Clinton and AFT president Randi Weingarten are longtime friends.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Moser|first1=Laura|title=The American Federation of Teachers Endorsed Hillary Clinton—and Not Everyone's Happy About It|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/schooled/2015/07/13/aft_hillary_clinton_endorsement_not_everyone_s_pleased_with_the_early_pick.html|access-date=14 September 2015|publisher=Slate|date=July 13, 2015}}</ref> AFT's official endorsement of Clinton caused controversy among some AFT members who felt that the endorsement came too soon and did not reflect the wishes of rank-and-file AFT members, some of whom supported [[Bernie Sanders]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Shah|first1=Nirvi|title=American Federation of Teachers endorses Hillary Clinton for president|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/aft-endorses-hillary-clinton-for-president-119988|access-date=14 September 2015|publisher=Politico|date=July 11, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Karni|first1=Annie|title=Unions seethe over early Clinton endorsement|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/unions-seethe-over-early-clinton-endorsement-120206|access-date=15 September 2015|publisher=Politico|date=July 16, 2015}}</ref>

Members' dues underwrite much of AFT's political activities.<ref>{{cite news|title=National Education Association And American Federation Of Teachers Give Millions To Various Outside Causes, Political Campaigns|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/13/countrys-two-largest-teac_n_1672335.html|access-date=15 September 2015|publisher=Huffington Post|date=July 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Mundy|first1=Alicia|title=Teachers Unions Give Broadly|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303644004577520841038165770|access-date=15 September 2015|publisher=Wall Street Journal|date=July 12, 2012}}</ref> In 2015, four California teachers sued AFT and its California unit, the California Federation of Teachers, over the use of member dues for political activities. The plaintiffs argued that unions were violating their constitutional right to free speech by forcing them to either support union-favored causes and candidates or lose access to important job benefits such as disability and life insurance.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brown|first1=Emma|title=California teachers unions face new legal challenge over dues|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/04/07/california-teachers-unions-face-new-legal-challenge-over-dues/|access-date=15 September 2015|newspaper=Washington Post|date=April 7, 2015}}</ref>

In 2018, the landmark Supreme Court ruling in ''[[Janus v. AFSCME]]'' resolved this matter, concluding that public sector union fees violate the First Amendment, compelling nonmembers to "subsidize private speech on matters of substantial public concern". Unions will, subsequently, need to gain the affirmative consent of individual teachers before enrolling them in the union.

==Activities==

===Race relations===
The AFT was one of the first trade unions to allow [[African-Americans]] and minorities to become full members of their trade union.<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Dewing| first1=Rolland| title= The American Federation of Teachers and Desegregation |journal= Journal of Negro Education |volume=42 |issue=1 |year=1973 | pages=79–92| doi=10.2307/2966795| jstor=2966795}}</ref> In 1918, the AFT called for equal pay for [[African-American teachers]], the election of African Americans to local school boards and compulsory school attendance for African-American children. In 1919, the AFT called for equal educational opportunities for African-American children, and in 1928 called for the social, political, economic, and cultural contributions of African Americans to be taught in the public schools.<ref>Eaton, ''The American Federation of Teachers, 1916–1961,'' 1975, p. 61-72.</ref>

In 1951, the union stopped chartering segregated locals.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hiram Perlstein|first1=Daniel|title=Justice, Justice: School Politics and the Eclipse of Liberalism|date=2004|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=9780820467870|page=24}}</ref> It filed an [[amicus curiae|amicus brief]] in the 1954 [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] desegregation case ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]''. In 1957, the AFT expelled all locals that refused to desegregate. This resulted in the loss of over 7,000 members.<ref name=battleground>{{cite book|last1=Wayne Ross|first1=E.|last2=Mathison|first2=Sandra|title=Battleground Schools|date=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group| isbn=9780313339417|page=632}}</ref> In 1963, the AFT actively supported the [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]].<ref name=battleground/>

===Collective bargaining===
By the late 1940s, AFT was slowly moving toward [[collective bargaining]] as an official policy. By the end of the 1970s, collective bargaining agreements covered 72% of public school teachers.<ref name=arnesen/>

===Active shooter drills===
In 2020, the union along with the [[National Education Association]] issued a report expressing opposition to active shooter drills being held in schools, calling on the drills to be revised or eliminated.<ref>{{cite news |title=Teachers unions express opposition to active shooter drills |url=https://www.wcpo.com/news/national/teachers-unions-express-opposition-to-active-shooter-drills |access-date=3 April 2020 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=WCPO |date=February 12, 2020}}</ref>

=== Share My Lesson ===
In 2012, AFT partnered with Britain's TES Connect to create a curriculum sharing website called Share My Lesson. The AFT and TES invested $10 million to develop the site.<ref name="times">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/us/teachers-union-to-open-lesson-sharing-web-site.html?_r=2&ref=us|title=Teachers' Union to Open Lesson-Sharing Web Site|last=Rich|first=Motoko|work=New York Times|date=June 19, 2012|access-date=19 June 2012}}</ref>

==Criticism==
In 2010, four American film documentaries, most notably ''[[Waiting for "Superman"|Waiting for Superman]]'', portrayed the AFT as hurting children by opposing [[charter school]]s and protecting incompetent teachers.<ref>Richard Whitmire, ''The bee eater: Michelle Rhee takes on the nation's worst school district'' (2011) p. 126. John Wiley and Sons, 2011 {{ISBN|0-470-90529-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-470-90529-6}}</ref>

==Leadership==
===Presidents===
:1916: Charles Stillman<ref name="organizing">{{cite book |title=Organizing the Teaching Profession The Story of the American Federation of Teachers |date=1955 |publisher=American Federation of Teachers |page=311}}</ref>
:1923: [[Florence Rood]]<ref name="organizing" />
:1925: [[Mary Cornelia Barker|Mary C. Barker]]<ref name="organizing" />
:1931: Henry R. Linville<ref name="organizing" />
:1934: Raymond F. Lowry<ref name="organizing" />
:1936: Jerome C. Davis<ref name="organizing" />
:1939: George S. Counts<ref name="organizing" />
:1942: John M. Fewkes<ref name="organizing" />
:1943: Joseph F. Landis<ref name="organizing" />
:1947: John M. Eklund<ref name="organizing" />
:1952: Carl J. Megel<ref name="organizing" />
:1964: [[Charles Cogen]]<ref name="notable">{{cite book |title=Notable Names in American History |date=1973 |publisher=James T. White & Company |location=Clifton, New Jersey |isbn=0883710021 |page=557}}</ref>
:1968: [[David Selden]]<ref name="notable" />
:1974: [[Albert Shanker]]
:1997: [[Sandra Feldman]]
:2004: [[Edward J. McElroy]]
:2008: [[Randi Weingarten]]

===Secretary-Treasurers===
:1916: F. G. Stecker<ref name="organizing" />
:1926: Florence Curtis Hanson<ref name="organizing" />
:1935: George Davis<ref name="organizing" />
:1936: Irvin R. Kuenzli<ref name="organizing" />
:1953: ''Post vacant''
:1963: Robert Porter
:1992: [[Edward J. McElroy]]
:2004: [[Nat LaCour]]
:2008: Antonia Cortese
:2011: Lorretta Johnson
:2020: Fedrick C. Ingram

==Notable AFT members==
* [[J. Quinn Brisben]], [[Socialist Party USA]] candidate for President of the United States in the 1992 U.S. presidential election
* [[Ralph Bunche]], former [[Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations|United Nations Under-Secretary-General]] and [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner
* [[Tony Danza]], film and television actor
* [[Paul Douglas (Illinois politician)|Paul Douglas]], [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] from Illinois
* [[John Dewey]], educator
* [[Albert Einstein]], scientist
* [[Michael Harrington]], political activist
* [[Hubert Humphrey]], U.S. vice-president and U.S. Senator from Minnesota
* [[Mike Mansfield]], former [[United States Senate Majority Leader]] and [[Ambassadors of the United States|U.S. Ambassador]] to Japan
* [[Frank McCourt]], [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning author
* [[Robert Oppenheimer]], scientist<ref>Herken, ''Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller,'' 2002, p. 30.</ref>
* [[Donna Shalala]], former [[U.S. Representative]] from Florida and former [[United States Secretary of Health and Human Services]]
* [[Elie Wiesel]], [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner
*[[Kshama Sawant]], [[Socialism|socialist]] activist and member of the [[Seattle City Council]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Robertson|first1=Kipp|title=Kshama Sawant: Teachers have come under 'ferocious assault'|url=http://mynorthwest.com/11/2810752/Kshama-Sawant-Teachers-have-come-under-ferocious-assault|access-date=15 September 2015|publisher=MyNorthwest.com|date=September 15, 2015}}</ref>

==Notable AFT locals and federations==
*[[Chicago Teachers Union]]
*[[Cincinnati Federation of Teachers]]
*[[Education Minnesota]]
*[[Florida Education Association]]
*[[Health Professionals and Allied Employees]]
*[[Montana Federation of Public Employees]]
*[[New York State United Teachers]]
*[[Ohio Federation of Teachers]]
*[[Professional Staff Congress]] ([[City University of New York]])
*[[Public Employees Federation]] (New York state)
*[[Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals]]
*[[Temple University Graduate Students Association]]
*[[United Federation of Teachers]] (New York City)
*[[United Teachers Los Angeles]]
*[[United Teachers of New Orleans]]
*[[University Health Professionals]] (Connecticut state)
*[[Washington State Nurses Association]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Organized labour}}
* [[Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions]]
* [[Teachers Union]]
* [[Teachers Guild]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Archives of Labor History. Wayne State University. ''An American Federation of Teachers Bibliography.'' Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1980. {{ISBN|0-8143-1659-X}} [https://archive.org/details/americanfederati0000wayn online]
* Berube, Maurice R. ''Teacher Politics: The Influence of Unions Vol. 26.'' Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1988. {{ISBN|0-313-25685-3}}
* Braun, Robert J. ''Teachers and Power: The Story of the American Federation of Teachers.'' New York: Simon & Schuster, 1972. {{ISBN|0-671-21167-6}} [https://archive.org/details/teacherspowersto00brau online]
* Cain, Timothy Reese. "For Education and Employment: The American Federation of Teachers and Academic Freedom, 1926–1941." ''History of Higher Education Annual,'' 26 (2007), 67–102.

* Commission on Educational Reconstruction of the American Federation of Teachers. ''Organizing the Teaching Profession: The Story of the American Federation of Teachers'' (1955) see [https://www.proquest.com/docview/1296514171?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true&imgSeq=1 online book review]

* Dewing, Rolland. "The American Federation of Teachers and Desegregation," ''Journal of Negro Education'' Vol. 42, No. 1 (Winter, 1973), pp.&nbsp;79–92 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2966795 in JSTOR]
* Eaton, William Edward. ''The American Federation of Teachers, 1916–1961: A History of the Movement.'' Urbana, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1975. {{ISBN|0-8093-0708-1}} [https://archive.org/details/americanfederati00will online]
* Gaffney, Dennis. ''Teachers United: The Rise of New York State United Teachers.'' Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 2007. {{ISBN|0-7914-7191-8}}
* Gordon, Jane Anna. ''Why They Couldn't Wait: A Critique of the Black-Jewish Conflict Over Community Control in Ocean-Hill Brownsville, 1967–1971.'' Oxford: RoutledgeFalmer, 2001. {{ISBN|0-415-92910-5}}
* Haley, Margaret. ''Battleground: The Autobiography of Margaret A. Haley.'' Robert L. Reid, ed. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1982. {{ISBN|0-252-00913-4}}
* Kahlenberg, Richard. "Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race and Democracy Columbia University Press, 2007. {{ISBN|0-23150909X}}
* Knudsen, Andrew. ''[http://depts.washington.edu/depress/AFT_Local_401.shtml Communism, Anti-Communism, and Faculty Unionization: The American Federation of Teachers Union at the University of Washington, 1935–1948],'' Great Depression in Washington State Project, 2009.

* Moe, Terry M. ''Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America's Public Schools'' (Brookings Institution Press; 2011) 513 pages; argues that teachers' unions cause serious problems with education in the US and contribute to the slowness of reform.
* Murphy, Marjorie. ''Blackboard Unions: The AFT and the NEA, 1900–1980.'' Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1991. {{ISBN|0-8014-2365-1}} [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780801480768 online]
* O'Connor, Paula. "Grade School Teachers Become Labor Leaders." ''Labor's Heritage.'' 7:2 (Fall 1995).
* Podair, Jerald.  ''[[The Strike That Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis]].''  New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-300-08122-7}}
* [[Walter P. Reuther Library]], Wayne State University. [http://www.reuther.wayne.edu/ward/aft/aft-time.html ''AFT Historical Timeline.'' No date.] Accessed June 18, 2006.

==Archives==
* [https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv65457 American Federation of Teachers Local 200 Photograph Collection.] approximately 1964-1975. 69 photographic prints (1 box); various sizes, 12 negatives.
* [http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/aft/ AFT Antecedents to Historical Reform], a digital library project to host primary resources from the AFT historical collections in the Walter P. Reuther Library that document various education reform initiatives that union and school boards have collaborated on from 1983 to present.

==External links==
{{Commons category|American Federation of Teachers}}
* {{official website}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120913122123/http://depts.washington.edu/labhist/laborpress/WashingtonTeacher.shtml The Washington State Teacher (1945–1951)], from [[The Labor Press Project]]
*[https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000083 AFT] on [[OpenSecrets]]
*[http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/oh_008/ American Federation of Teachers Oral History Collection], [[Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives|Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives]], [[New York University]]
*[http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/pe_012 Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the American Federation of Teachers], Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University
*[http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/tam_388/ Joyce Wheeler American Federation of Teachers Papers], Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University

{{AFL-CIO}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:American Federation of Teachers| ]]
[[Category:1916 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:AFL-CIO]]
[[Category:Education trade unions]]
[[Category:Education International]]
[[Category:Public Services International]]
[[Category:American education-related professional associations]]
[[Category:Teacher associations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Educational organizations based in Washington, D.C.]]