By unanimous vote March 6, the respective governing councils of the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of University Professors have agreed to join forces.
Pending approval in June by the respective delegate assemblies, the affiliation agreement will bring together more than 300,000 faculty members between the two organizations.
“The AFT and AAUP are coming together to unleash the purpose, promise and possibilities of higher education in America,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten in a press release. “The idea of the university is to encourage and defend the free exchange of intellectual labor because all scholarship and teaching create value — whether it is social, economic or cultural.”
She added, “Together, we will create a higher education system where all students have the ability to recognize truth, think critically about the world in which they live, and envision a better future for themselves and our society. That is what joining together means, and that is the far-reaching potential that our affiliation brings — an alliance greater than the sum of its parts.”