Abstract Between 1985 and 1987, as part of an American Federation of Teachers-sponsored project, oral historian Renee Epstein interviewed leading figures in AFT on signficant aspects of their history with the union. From 2001 to 2009, AFT Archivist Dan Golodner concluded the project. Collection consists of transcripts and recordings of 29 interviews. Topics discussed in Part 1 include the rise of the militant teacher, early collective bargaining and strikes, AFT political structure, Shanker vs. Selden...