Since our founding as a union in 1916, the AFT has identied with, participated in and championed the cause

of organized labor. Our ranks include teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel, early childhood educators, higher education faculty and staff, nurses and health professionals, and state and local government employees. What

binds us together is a

commitment to solidarity with workers everywhere, the quality of the services we provide and the public we serve.

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As a community of professionals in unison with all working people, we are committed collectively to advancing human rights, opportunity, social and economic justice, freedom of conscience and expression, unfettered civic and political participation, fairness at work, tolerance, democracy and security at home and abroad. The

AFT stands

for the right of individuals everywhere to form

and participate in voluntary democratic, civic, cultural, religious and fraternal institutions for self-help, worship, advocacy and mutual
support.

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Free, democratic and independent

labor unions are the

hallmarks of free societies. We are committed to achieving the rights

of all workers irrespective of nationality, citizenship, or employment sector or status to organize and represent their individual and collective workplace, economic, occupational and professional interests wherever such rights are effectively denied in the United States and throughout the world.

We are committed to the principle of self-determination, fair play, responsiveness and accountability in union governance. Working people and the public are entitled to know that the unions representing their interests are honest, participatory and uninchingly and exclusively devoted to the common good.

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We believe that solidarity within and among the members of the AFT, other labor organizations, and those workers soon to be organized is

vital to

building a movement with the legitimacy and

authoritative power to speak effectively for working people and bring their inuence to bear at work, in the economy, the practice of our professions and in the determination of domestic and international policy.

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We believe in the transformational power of universal free public

education as the engine for enabling individuals to achieve their

personal aspirations while producing a free, informed, tolerant, united, engaged and productive citizenry. We believe in the

common

school where children from all races, religions, national origins

and economic circumstances are brought together to participate
in a quality education characterized by high standards, a challenging curriculum, effective instruction, a safe and dignied learning environment, mutual tolerance and respect, and an appreciation for the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

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We believe that individuals are entitled to

enjoy

the fruits of

their industry and enterprise, and that mutual responsibility and

solidarity create the conditions necessary for nurturing individuality, the attainment of personal and collective ambitions, and the competition and cooperation that characterize humane, strong, democratic and productive societies.

We believe in the liberating force and potential of ideas and their free

expression in the advancement of scientic and social progress, in raising the standard of living for all, and in the establishment of international freedom and peace. We take seriously the imperative
to participate actively in the political process at all levels, and to promote human rights throughout the world.

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We are guided by a commitment to building a society where all people have:

The right to an excellent free universal public education Freedom of association, conscience and expression Fair and decent working conditions and wages Accessible quality healthcare regardless of income Dignied work and dignied retirement Decent housing and responsive public services A clean and healthful environment Security and peace And a government that promotes opportunity, collective and individual initiative and freedom, protects against discrimination and exploitation, and evens the playing eld in curbing abuses of concentrated power and privilege.
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These are the enduring

values

and principles that guided

earlier generations of AFT members in overcoming the challenges of

their times, that built unions where none existed, gained rights where there werent any, won equality before the law where there had been discrimination and injustice, and asserted a role for quality and high standards where professional voice previously had been denied.

It is a vision we reafrm as we meet the challenges of our own times and those that lie ahead.

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