AFT Public Employees is the division of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) that represents federal, state and local government employees.
Though the AFT was once exclusively a union of teachers, today its membership is composed of more than 1.2 million public service professionals throughout the country who are united by a common cause: to provide services that strengthen, secure and protect our communities.
Five constituency groups, representing nurses and health professionals, higher education faculty and staff, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel, government employees and PreK-12 teachers compose the AFT, which is the oldest public employee union of professionals in the country.
Together, we are one union committed to the effective representation of public service professionals, and the promotion of the principles and public services that have grown our great democracy.
Organizing and mobilizing are essential among public sector professionals because decisions about our jobs – funding levels, program priorities, wages and benefits – are determined by policymakers in politically-charged environments. Through strong legislative and political action capacity at every level of the union based on member involvement, we secure better contracts and legislation that recognize the value of public services and the contributions made every day by government employees.
