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What unions do

In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times  column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

A torrent of censorship

Nearly 250 years since our country’s founding, some Americans are still attempting to restrict others’ basic freedoms. In Florida and elsewhere, censoring books is part of larger efforts to exert greater control over and undermine education.

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Voting for democracy and a better life

In the leadup to the midterm elections, pundits predicted a red wave, even a tsunami, based on polls, historical precedent, and steep gas and grocery prices. But I had my doubts. I spent the weeks before the elections talking to voters and traveling on the AFT Votes bus, rolling through a dozen states with more than 50 stops. In a year when kitchen table issues, democracy and our freedoms were on the ballot, many people told me that the elections came down to a choice between, on the one side, election deniers and extremists stoking fear, and on the other, problem-solvers working to help the country move forward. Many races were close, but Americans turned the tide from a red wave to a swell of support for progress and problem-solvers. Read the full column here.

Sharing more pathways to student debt relief

As the landscape of student debt shifts, and more and more opportunities allow borrowers to have their debt relieved, the AFT is using every avenue to ensure that the word is out. In affiliate meetings, telephone town halls, media coverage and social media, the union is spreading the news, and at a student debt clinic at AFT headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 31, AFT President Randi Weingarten vowed to reach as many people as possible with information that could save them tens—and sometimes hundreds—of thousands of dollars.

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Celebrating student loan relief

“It was like waking up and learning you won the lottery.” That’s just one of the comments flooding the AFT offices from members who are elated to be free of student debt at last. After relentless advocacy, including an AFT lawsuit against former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that was so broken is finally doing what it is supposed to do: delivering relief from student debt for thousands of borrowers. So far, $6.2 billion in student debt has been forgiven for 100,000 public service workers like teachers, nurses and professors.

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Rally for a Thriving Wage ahead of first 2022 Negotiations Meeting

AFT Local 1789 members will gather Mon, Feb 7, 11am-1pm at Seattle Central's South Plaza to Rally for a Thriving Wage, demanding a 40% salary increase to thrive in Seattle's high-cost of living and calling for an open, democratic bargaining process.

The next day (Tues, Feb 8), the first negotiations meeting between the AFT 1789 Negotiations Team and Seattle Colleges' negotiators will take place from 3:30-5pm via zoom. The agenda includes: introductions, scheduling of future negotiation sessions, and discussing AFT's demand that joint sessions are open to all faculty members to attend.

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NEWS ARTICLE: "As Strike Looms, UC Lecturers Raise the Stakes"

Here's an article about the the power of open negotiations: "As Strike Looms, UC Lecturers Raise the Stakes" (LaborNotes, 11/1/2021)

The union representing lecturers, UC-AFT, voted 96% in favor of strike authorization this summer, which gives them much needed leverage during an impasse with management. With negotiations with the university system in their final stages, the union's use of open bargaining has been especially inspiring -- nearly 400 members and supporters tuned in!

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