Lacking the legal right to bargain collectively, the nascent union pushed for higher wages, an end to discrimination against married women teachers, smaller class sizes and desegregation.
In the post-World War II era, the CFT focused on desegregation more than wages and benefits, or a collective bargaining relationship.
The CTA, which emphasized higher teachers wages and was much more aggressive in its dealings with the school district administration, added many new members (often at the expense of CFT).
The CTU began an aggressive campaign to elect pro-union supporters to the city council, mayor's office and school board.
In 1979, Tom Mooney, a teacher of government in a Cincinnati high school, was elected president of the CTU.