News

From Chalkboards to AI: A Teacher’s 65-Year Journey

On her very first day of student teaching at Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook, N.Y., Martha Strever pushed, pulled and pounded on the school’s door, which was locked. No one came. Where was everybody? It was, after all, the first day of school.

It turned out everybody was exactly where they were supposed to be: inside, having entered through the school’s front entrance. Strever had been knocking on a side door. Flustered but undeterred, she not only found her way inside, she also found her life’s calling.

Strever’s sentences are punctuated with laughs when she recounts the story to

It is clear that higher education is under attack. The Trump administration has frozen funding for science, from cancer research to reproductive care; has hamstrung student financial aid programs; has stripped colleges and universities of diversity, equity and inclusion programming; has strangled affirmative action designed to expand access to college; and is demanding that some institutions sign a “compact” that forces them to adopt Trump’s ideology in exchange for federal funding.

On Nov. 7, students, faculty and staff rose up at more than 100 universities and colleges across the country and

Photo of AFT President Randi Weingarten addressing TEACH 2023

The AFT has always been a solutions-driven union, and our new campaign, launched during TEACH on July 21, proves it once again with a fresh, practical approach to strengthening public education. As AFT President Randi Weingarten pointed out during her keynote speech, the $5 million, yearlong campaign, “Real Solutions for Kids and Communities,” stands up against attacks on public schools and offers real-world solutions to build up, rather than break down, our communities.

Randi Weingarten at a Massachusetts high school

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.

[10-24-07]

On October 24, 2007, professional staff at Yakima Valley Community College became the first group of professional employees to vote to unionize under a new state collective bargaining law.

In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

In defense of public education

Randi Weingarten and NYC teacher Tamara Simpson

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.

Trump Education Budget Tips Scale Against "Marginalized Communities"

April 26, 2017 | Public News Service | Eric Tegethoff, Producer

SEATTLE - Teachers and education staff are watching closely this week to see what happens with the Trump administration's proposed cuts to Education Department programs, as Congress works on a budget for next year.

The proposal slashes more than 13 percent, or $9 billion, off the agency's budget. While this might change during negotiations, Karen Strickland, president of the American Federation of Teachers of Washington, said she sees a theme that is emerging from the proposal. [full story]

WA Lawmakers Consider "Student Loan Bill of Rights"

March 10, 2017 | Eric Tegethoff, Producer, Washington News Service

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington state lawmakers are considering a bill to hold student loan providers accountable for their services.

Passed in the House last week, the Senate is considering the Student Loan Bill of Rights.

House Bill 1440 gives students protections as consumers of loan services, and also establishes a student loan ombuds to advocate for students and resolve loan issues.

Rep. Monica Stonier, who sponsored the bill in the House, says an ombuds will be able to help students navigate the questionable practices of some loan providers. [read or hear full story]

Nominees for RFT officers 2016-2018

The following people have been nominated for RFT offices. We thank them for their willingness to serve. Those whose names are linked go to short bios that they have submitted.

President: