AFT President Randi Weingarten: Explain. Educate. Engage. Empower.
This is how we cultivate change at the roundhouse and in Congress!
We can fight back against the private prison operators that fuel mass incarceration
It’s time to divest from private prisons: The US incarcerates more prisoners than any other nation in the world - and private prisons profit. Our new report details how AFT members can encourage their pension funds to divest from private prison corporations.
Strikes and shutdowns
In Los Angeles, UTLA members took to the picket lines because their schools are starved of resources. In Washington, D.C., President Trump has shut down the government to secure his border wall. In her monthly New York Times column, AFT President Randi Weingarten writes that when our elected leaders fail, whether by not funding public schools or by shutting down services that provide for our safety, they strike at the very heart of what makes us a democratic republic. Read the full column.
A Decade of Neglect
“A Decade of Neglect: Public Education Funding in the Aftermath of the Great Recession” details for the first time the devastating impact on schools, classrooms and students when states choose to pursue an austerity agenda in the false belief that tax cuts will pay for themselves. The comprehensive report offers a deep dive into the long-term austerity agendas and historic disinvestment that sparked the wave of nationwide walkouts this spring.
After Janus, we’re in it to win it
In a decision that surprised no one, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27 ruled against working people and in favor of billionaires and corporate interests in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, holding that requiring fair-share fees in public sector workplaces violates the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Graduate employees make history at Georgetown
For two years, graduate employees at Georgetown University have been organizing, persistently working toward official recognition as the Georgetown Alliance of Graduate Employees. On April 2, the university finally agreed to allow them to vote on whether they want a union and promised that, if they win the vote, they’ll have dispute resolution, collective bargaining and other measures that will give them more of a voice on campus.
Fighting DeVos and the nightmare of student loan repayment
A new "notice of interpretation" from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos aims to make it even harder to pay off your student debt—and easier to get overcharged and abused in the process.