American Federation of Teachers

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is an American labor union that primarily represents teachers. The union was founded in Chicago in 1916. A precursor to the group, the American Federation of Teachers and Students, was founded in 1900. Approximately 60% of AFT's membership works directly in education, with the remainder of the union's membership composed of paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff, and nurses and other healthcare professionals. The AFT's affiliations include the  trade union federation since its founding, the old  American Federation of Labor until 1955, and the AFL-CIO.