The American labor movement has always been a constructive champion of better schools. One of the deepest convictions of early unionists was that the responsibilities of a democratic society make it imperative that all citizens be educated. Unions have always supported free public education. From its founding convention, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was a champion of the schools, the students, and the teachers. The AFL supported compulsory school attendance laws as well as laws against child labor. Unions have also given serious attention to other educational problems, including curriculum, school financing, and the position of the teachers. The AFL favored including vocational classes; adult education was another aspect of labor's interest in the curriculum. The unionization of teachers was seen as a dependable way to better working conditions and better salaries for teachers and as a method of winning dignity, freedom, and independence. The AFL and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) have also supported federal aid as one workable way to equalizing educational opportunity. The AFL-CIO disagrees with the Reagan administration's proposed cut in education programs and considers it a reduction in the quality of education at a time when public education needs to be reviewed, revitalized, and reformed. (YLB)