The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is not a K-12 teachers union. It is an amalgamation of AFL-CIO bargaining units that includes nurses and healthcare workers, Planned Parenthood employees, librarians, higher education employees (including graduate students), early child care workers, and other federal, state and local government employees. Teachers should not be surprised when their urgent needs are not prioritized at next week’s AFT Convention.

Yes, the AFT has a Public Education unit, but teachers are a fraction of the AFT’s 1.75 million members. In fact, the AFT describes itself as “the second-largest union representing nurses and healthcare professionals in the national AFL-CIO” and “the fastest growing healthcare union in the nation.” 

The AFT will gather in Houston next week for a “Real Solutions for a Better Life”-themed convention. Based on the 160-page “Proposed Constitutional Amendments and Resolutions” booklet provided to attendees, the union will vote on a range of resolutions that ignore the discipline, learning loss, and chronic absenteeism challenges that teachers face.

The AFT Convention’s few education-related resolution topics include ramping up opposition to student testing and education options. Most of the other 81 resolutions are focused on advancing a radical agenda and building “union power.” The AFT will vote on preparing for strikes, replacing gender-specific language with gender-neutral language, advocating for sex-trait modification procedures, divesting from Israel, solidarity with campus encampments, ramping up get-out-the-vote efforts for Biden, reducing military spending, carbon emissions, ESG, CA’s water supply, DC statehood, and an array of other progressive positions.

AFT president Randi Weingarten will tweet next week about #RealSolutions for teachers and students. But teachers should look beyond her social media performance and pay attention to her union’s convention votes. Radical activism does not result in real solutions.

To learn more about the AFT’s priorities, read “NEA & AFT Direct Teachers’ Dues To Biden Campaign,” “Randi Weingarten Puts Planned Parenthood Before Students,” and “Putting Politics Over Students.”

For more information about teachers unions, check out the 

IWF Education Freedom Center’s Teachers Union Resource Center