American Federation of Teachers

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The American Federation of Teachers is a nonprofit organization that represents the economic, social and professional interests of classroom teachers. Five divisions within the organization represent the broad spectrum of AFT's membership: teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff; and nurses and other health care professionals. In addition, the union includes more than 170,000 retiree members. Member benefit programs include financial services, travel, insurance and various discounts on services. The AFT advocates sound, commonsense public education policies, which include high academic and conduct standards for students and greater professionalism for teachers and school staff; excellence in public service through cooperative problem solving and workplace innovations; and high-quality health care provided by qualified professionals. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the American Federation of Teachers was founded in 1916 and is an affiliated international union of the AFL-CIO. The organization has more than 3,000 local affiliates nationwide, nearly 45 state affiliates, and approximately 1.3 million members.