David Selden

Who was David Selden?

David Selden was an American activist who led the American Federation of Teachers from 1968 through 1974.

As Director of Organization of the Teachers Guild from 1953, he was a main strategist in the creation of the United Federation of Teachers in 1960 and the winning of collective bargaining in 1961. During that time he mentored several UFT staff people, including Burke Probitsky and Robert Lieberman and elected leaders. Among them was one he was particularly close to: a junior high school teacher named Albert Shanker. Shanker often paid tribute to Selden, saying that all he knew about union organizing he had learned from Selden.

Selden left UFT in 1968 upon winning election as president of the American Federation of Teachers. With the merger of the AFT and NEA affiliates in New York State in 1972, AFT became a major national union.

Selden's new prominence as head of a major union, and his opposition to the Vietnam War, landed him on the master list of Nixon political opponents.