Website: http://www.aft.org/about/index.

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American Federation of Teachers

Mission: The mission of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, is to improve

the lives of our members and their families, to give voice to their legitimate
professional, economic and social aspirations, to strengthen the institutions in
which we work, to improve the quality of the services we provide, to bring together
all members to assist and support one another and to promote democracy, human
rights and freedom in our union, in our nation and throughout the world.

--From the Futures II report adopted at the AFT Convention, July 5, 2000

The American Federation of Teachers was founded in 1916 to represent the

economic, social and professional interests of classroom teachers. It is an affiliated
international union of the AFL-CIO.

The AFT has more than 3,000 local affiliates nationwide, 43 state affiliates, and
more than 1.4 million members.

Five divisions within the organization represent the broad spectrum of AFT's
membership: teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel (PSRP);
local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff; and nurses
and other healthcare professionals. In addition, the union includes more than
170,000 retiree members.

The AFT is governed by its elected officers and delegates to the union's biennial
convention, which sets union policy and elects the union's officers. Elected leaders
are Randi Weingarten, president, Antonia Cortese, secretary-treasurer, Lorretta
Johnson, executive vice president, and a 39-member executive council. Weingarten
also serves as vice president of the AFL-CIO.

In non-convention years, the AFT hosts the Quality Educational Standards in

Teaching (QuEST) conference, a professional issues meeting that attracts nearly
3,000 educators from around the country. AFT's healthcare, higher education,
public employee and PSRP divisions also host yearly professional issues
conferences.

The AFT advocates sound, commonsense public education policies, including high
academic and conduct standards for students and greater professionalism for
teachers and school staff; excellence in public service through cooperative problem-
solving and workplace innovations; and high-quality healthcare provided by
qualified professionals.

Many well-known Americans have been AFT members, including John Dewey, Albert
Einstein, Hubert Humphrey, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt, Nobel
Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, former Senate Majority Leader and Ambassador to
Japan Mike Mansfield, former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala, and former United
Nations Under Secretary and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche.

Website: http://www.nea.org/

National Education Association

Mission: Our vision is that every child deserves a quality education. Our mission is
to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to
fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a
diverse and interdependent world. We believe public education is the gateway to
opportunity. All students have the human and civil right to a quality public
education that develops their potential, independence, and character.

In 1857, one hundred educators answered a national call to unite as one voice in the cause of
public education. At the time, learning to read and write was a luxury for most children—and a
crime for many Black children. One hundred and fifty years later, public education and the
profession of teaching are transformed. In 1966 we joined forces with the American Teachers
Association. Since then, our voice has swelled to 3.2 million members, and what was once a
privilege for a fortunate few is now an essential right for every American child, regardless of
family income or place of residence.

Since its beginning, the National Education Association has been ahead of its time, crusading for
the rights of all educators and children. Learn more about NEA's rich history, from welcoming
Black members four years before the Civil War and electing a woman as president a full decade
before Congress granted women the right to vote, to the 1966 merger with the American
Teachers Association during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.