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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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Your vote is your voice

AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest column outlines the urgency of using our voices—our votes—in this life-changing election, when we will make a choice “between President Donald Trump, who has trafficked in chaos, fear, lies and division, and former Vice President Joe Biden, who seeks to reverse Trump’s failures on COVID-19 and the economy, and to unite and uplift the American people.” Besides the four crises we face—a pandemic, an economic crisis, racism and a climate emergency—democracy itself is on the ballot, as Trump continues to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election.

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‘Back to school’ like never before

In her September New York Times column, AFT President Randi Weingarten says that going back to school has never looked like it does now. Weingarten explains that because of President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus, which has been chaotic, contradictory and inept, and the lack of federal guidance and funding, we’re seeing a patchwork of school reopening plans across the country.

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United Against Racism

During the eighteen months leading up to the 2016 election, there was an escalation of hate toward immigrants, Muslims, people of color, women, the disabled, and LGBTQ folks. Trump's victory has elevated this hate to a new level. The attack on black students alerts us that college campuses and educational institutions are not immune to violence and hate, indeed, may be especially targeted. We cannot accept this. Not in our universities, not in our communities.

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UAP Members Celebrate Banned Books Week

Many of our members are librarians, writers, or teachers of English and Literature. This year we're highlighting their voices for Banned Books Week. Read on for more about their favorite banned books, why they teach what they do, and what's so important about intellectual freedom.

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