Declaring that President Obama is the only candidate who will fight to preserve and expand the middle class, close the inequality gap and ensure everyone has a "fair shot" at success, the AFT announced its endorsement of President Obama and Vice President Biden for re-election on Feb. 7.

Many studies over the years have documented the need for smoother transitions from prekindergarten to the elementary level. A new AFT report reinforces that conclusion—and does it in a manner that puts frontline voices at the heart of the dialogue.

In her latest "What Matters Most" column, which appears in the New York Times, AFT president Randi Weingarten discusses the importance of the Ohio vote, as well as results in other states that showed voters are fed up with politicians who thought they could exploit a tough economy to advance extremist agendas. Those results are sending a message that legislators need to heed.

The citizens of Ohio took back their state with a historic vote on Nov. 8 to repeal Senate Bill 5. The vote, which marks the first time that the collective bargaining rights of public employees have been upheld on a statewide ballot, sends a clear signal that Ohioans will not sit idly by while politicians scapegoat hard-working public employees for an economic crisis they did not create.

 

President Obama's bold plan—the American Jobs Act—is the right antidote to help solve our persistent economic problems, AFT president Randi Weingarten says.

Two longtime union activists and education reformers are assuming new roles in AFT's leadership, AFT president Randi Weingarten announced on Sept. 9.

Every day, educators and other public employees, and the services they provide our communities, are being attacked. From challenging collective bargaining rights, to undermining the quality of public education and higher education, to decimating pensions and trying to put healthcare coverage further out of reach, working men and women across the country are under assault. And if this has taught us one thing, it's that Elections Matter.

Generation Y teachers—those in their mid-30s or younger—say that to keep them in teaching, schools should be transformed into workplaces that support high-quality teaching and learning, so eager but nearly overwhelmed novices will stay in the profession and can become highly effective, according to a new report by the AFT and the American Institutes for Research.

In a March 28 speech sponsored by the Commonwealth Club, AFT president Randi Weingarten challenged those who have blamed public employees and their right to collectively bargain as a cause of their states' fiscal problems.

Workers' fundamental rights are under attack in a growing number of states. But as we have seen in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and elsewhere, those attacks have inspired and motivated tens of thousands of union members to stand together for their rights. The challenge now, as AFT president Randi Weingarten put it in a recent e-mail to more than 1.5 million AFT members and allies, is to take this moment and turn it into a movement. One step in that direction is a "We Are One" Week of Action, starting April 4, that will bring together members from the AFT and other unions, along with our allies, to participate in events around the country. First, take the pledge to help make a difference. Once you take the pledge, you'll see lots of ideas for how to join in the week of action.

AFT president Randi Weingarten on Feb. 24 proposed a new way to align teacher development and evaluation to due process for tenured teachers. Weingarten laid out a three-step process consisting of clear standards for what teachers should know and be able to do, a time-limited improvement and support plan for teachers deemed to be unsatisfactory according to the evaluation standards, and a hearing process that can take no longer than 100 days, which in many cases would be even more expedient.

On Jan. 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy captured and crystallized a moment in history when he told America, "the torch has been passed to a new generation." To mark the 50th anniversary of this landmark inaugural address, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum has created a new website filled with groundbreaking multimedia that invites young visitors to explore the JFK legacy through such core themes as public service, civil rights and innovation.