Skip to main content

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.

MORE
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.

MORE

What unions do

nyt031923_1800x900.jpg

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.

Thanks to the hard work of our negotiating team, here is the new RFT contract. You can find the instructional calendars and MOUs near the end.

2021-2024 RFT Contract

Past RFT officers and negotiating team members answered many questions about changes to the contract in a virtual meeting that was recorded in June 2021. You can view the meeting below.

Meeting Recording discussing contract changes

MORE

RFT Executive Officers -- September 2021 to August 2023

These are your RFT elected officers. Please contact one of us if you're dealing with a work-related issue!

Donna Maher, President

Rick Geist, Vice President

Alma Meza, Vice President for Finance (Treasurer)

Sarah Redd, Vice President for Personnel (Membership)

Elizabeth Flanagan, Vice President for Communication (Secretary)

Camille Pomeroy, Vice President for Political

Martin Paquette, Vice President for Professional Rights and Responsibilities

Cheryl Stover, Vice President for Adjunct Faculty Issues

MORE
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.

MORE