The FAT was influenced by the student movements of the late 1960s and the Tlatelolco Massacre of 1968. In the following years, the FAT's political orientation became more left-wing. It engaged in the rank-and-file union reform campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s that occurred in the steelworkers, auto workers, and electrical workers unions.
Following the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, the FAT became one of the main organizations to oppose the neoliberal reform. The FAT has participated in international "cross-border solidarity" campaigns with other unions such as the United Electrical Workers of the United States. It has also engaged in other social justice initiatives, such as campaigns around women's rights. Though independent from any political party, the FAT tends to side with the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).
