What is the Berkeley Federation of Teachers? 

The BFT is made up of 800 teachers (K-12, Adult School, and Child Development), counselors, substitutes, school psychologists, Adaptive PE teachers, librarians and speech pathologists serving Berkeley public school students.

Founded in 1950, the BFT works vigorously to improve working conditions for its members, and learning conditions for students. We believe that a strong union is good for the community, and for its children. Research continues to show that teacher quality is the most important factor in student achievement. The BFT strives to create working conditions that will attract and retain excellent teachers in Berkeley.

Through our BFT Political Action Committee, and through our affiliations with the California Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers, we work to strengthen the commitment of citizens and the government to public education, and to make our voices heard in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

We encourage BFT members, and Berkeley citizens to use this web site as a resource and as a way to stay informed about crucial issues facing our public schools. We welcome your feedback and any input you would like to send us as to how to improve this web site.