Thousands of Educators, FLOTUS to Gather in Boston for AFT National Convention

Delegates will hear from First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, March for Our Lives Co-Founder David Hogg, Amazon Labor Union President Chris Smalls, and More to be announced

BOSTON – The American Federation of Teachers will host its 87th biennial national convention in Boston, bringing together over 3,000 delegates from across the country, representing 1.7 million teachers, paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel, higher education faculty and staff, nurses and healthcare professionals, and public employees.

AFT President Randi Weingarten will deliver her State of the Union speech on Thursday, July 14, which will address the convention’s theme of “Reclaiming Our Future: Fighting for the Promise of a Better America” as members prepare to confront the biggest issues facing the country and chart a path forward for public schools, public services and democracy.

On Friday, July 15, First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden will speak.

Members of the media planning to attend should RSVP HERE.

To schedule an interview with President Weingarten or any AFT officer during the convention, please contact Andrew Crook at acrook@aft.org or Andrew Feldman at andrew@feldmanstrategies.com. To request an interview with any of the guest speakers, please contact them or their press representatives directly—the AFT is unable to coordinate interviews with the guest speakers.

The schedule for the general sessions is as follows, however this is approximate and subject to change. Additional speakers will be added.

Thursday, July 14: 9:00am-11:30am

Jessica Tang, president of the Boston Teachers Union

Reverend Vernon K. Walker

Beth Kontos, president of the Massachusetts AFT

Michelle Wu, Mayor of Boston

Steve Tolman, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO

Fedrick C. Ingram, AFT Secretary-Treasurer

Evelyn DeJesus, AFT executive vice president

State of the Union: AFT President Randi Weingarten

Friday, July 15:

Making a Difference in the Labor Movement: 9:00am-11:30am

First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden

Senator Elizabeth Warren

Congresswoman Ayana Pressley, MA-7 (TBD)

Marty Walsh, U.S. Secretary of Labor

Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO

Chris Smalls, president of the Amazon Labor Union

Lynne Fox, international president of Workers United

Making a Difference in Public Service and in Our Communities: 2:30pm-4:30pm

Senator Ed Markey

David Hogg, Co-Founder of March For Our Lives

RuQuon Brown, co-founder of Love1 and Love100

Sarah Lerner, Co-Founder of Teachers Unify

Claudia Fegan, MD

AAUP Affiliation and Celebration: Randi Weingarten and AAUP President Irene Mulvey

Saturday, July 16:

Making a Difference in the Lives of Our Kids: 10am-12pm

Nathan Monell, executive director of the National Parent Teacher Association

Sindy Benavides, CEO of League of United Latin American Citizens

Making a Difference in Our Communities: 2pm-4pm

Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, Illinois

Susan Hopgood, President of Education International

David Edwards, General Secretary of Education International

Olga Chabanyuk, Vice President of the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Ukraine (TUESWU)

Sławomir Broniarz, president of the Polish Teachers Union

Sunday July 17:

Making a Difference at the Ballot Box: 9am-closing

Darlene Lombos, president of the Boston AFL-CIO

Maura Healey, Attorney General of Massachusetts (TBD)

Congresswoman Val Demings, FL-10 (TBD)

Santiago Mayer, Founder and Executive Director at Voters of Tomorrow

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (virtual address)