AFL-CIO Blog

  • The Deeper Impact of Student Loan Forgiveness
    The Deeper Impact of Student Loan Forgiveness President Biden recently announced that his administration will forgive $10,000 of student loan debt for low- and middle-class borrowers. Borrowers who received Pell Grants will be eligible for forgiveness of up to $20,000. Forgiveness will be limited to borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year, and nearly 90% of the relief goes to borrowers who make less than $75,000 a year. The announcement means that up to 43 million borrowers will benefit from forgiveness, with 20 million borrowers having their full remaining balance canceled. This will cut monthly payments in half for undergraduate loans. Among the many Americans who will benefit from this move are union members. We talked to several union members who will benefit directly from Biden's plan. Here are their stories: Laura Morand, AFSCME Local 2627: Morand is an IT professional for the New York City Fire Department. Morand took loans out to get herself through college and to ensure her kids had an opportunity to pursue an education. At one point, she had $305,000 in debt and saw no light at the end of the tunnel.  Through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, Morand saw nearly $200,000 in student loan debt wiped away. “Ten years ago, it was very difficult,” Morand said. “When I was raising my kids, I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Now, we’re able to have more freedom and be comfortable. All those years of suffering seem to be paying off. I feel almost 200,000 pounds lighter.” Aaron Crane, AFSCME Local 2773: Crane works for the Parks and Recreation Department with the city of Avon, Ohio. He had nearly $40,000 in student loans, a financial burden that limited many opportunities for his family. He had his entire balance wiped away through the PSLF. “Having my loans forgiven means that such a huge burden has been lifted from my family,” Crane said. “It’s like this elephant in the room when we used to do our finances, but now it's like we have so many more opportunities and ways to care and support our family.” Mistie Ryan, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 1465: Ryan shared that when she “woke up to this...it was like winning the lotto. Such a relief. I've been turning in the exact same documents yearly, the only difference is the settlement. I'm so thankful to Randi and our union for fighting for this.” Kelly Crone, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 27: Crone, who currently works as a call center representative at a local credit union in western Maryland, has been a UFCW member for 17 years. She currently serves as a shop steward and participated in UFCW’s free college program. Her family took out about $25,000 in student loans when her son attended West Virginia University, where he graduated in 2018. “We only had a short period of paying on them before they got deferred because of COVID, but even having a relatively small amount—it was still $260 a month,” Crone said. “That’s a car payment, that’s half of some people’s rent, that’s a lot of money to have to budget out. I have another daughter, so I’ve always been stressed about—are we going to have these paid off in time for her to go to school to be able to get her a college education? Now that they’re doing the debt forgiveness, that’s going to help us out greatly. It won’t pay them off, but we’ll have a small balance once we find how much we qualify for. And that’s going to be so beneficial for my son. He’s now at the point where’s he ready to settle down and buy a house, and this student debt forgiveness will help him continue on with his life.” Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 09/14/2022 - 11:53 — Sep 14
  • Service + Solidarity Spotlight: NFL Is Back, and So Are NFLPA’s Community MVPs
    Service + Solidarity Spotlight: NFL Is Back, and So Are NFLPA’s Community MVPs Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. The new NFL season started last week, and that means the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) is also starting this season’s highlights of its members who are going above and beyond to serve their communities off the field. Myles Garrett, who plays as a defensive end with the Cleveland Browns, is this year’s Week 1 NFLPA Community MVP. His Back-to-School Kickoff saw hundreds of students from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio receive free haircuts and hair styling before their first day of school, as well as essential back-to-school supplies. “From a very young age, my family taught me that helping other people is not just the nice thing to do; it’s the right thing to do,” said the six-year NFL player. “I’m passionate about uplifting the next generation, and I plan to positively impact as many lives as possible for as long as I can.” Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 09/14/2022 - 10:05 — Sep 14
  • Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Pro Baseball Players Lock Arms with AFL-CIO
    Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Pro Baseball Players Lock Arms with AFL-CIO Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. On Wednesday, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) officially announced that it is joining the wider labor movement as the 58th affiliate of the AFL-CIO. “We have an opportunity to advance player rights and worker rights in a way that we have not seen in generations,” said MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark. “So, if not now—if not us—then when?” Watch a short video of the announcement. Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 09/09/2022 - 10:53 — Sep 9
  • Working People Welcome Major League Baseball Players to AFL-CIO
    Working People Welcome Major League Baseball Players to AFL-CIO Yesterday, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) became the 58th affiliate of AFL-CIO. President Liz Shuler welcomed the MLBPA to the federation: “The MLBPA and every single one of its 1,200 players have a home in our movement because this union understands and lives the meaning of the word solidarity by leveraging the power of sports and helping others. Together, with our 12.5 million members, we will bring our strength to their fights, including working to organize 5,400 minor league players.” “The MLBPA has a proud, 56-year history of success rooted in unity and a highly engaged membership,” Executive Director Tony Clark said. “We look forward to bringing that history and experience to bear as a more formal part of the movement.” Here is what AFL-CIO's other affiliates said in welcoming the baseball players: AFSCME: American Federation of Teachers: Boilermakers: International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers: Italian American Actors: Jobs With Justice: Labor Council for Latin American Advancement: Machinists: National Association of Letter Carriers: National Nurses United: NWSL Players Association: NFL Players Association: Office and Professional Employees: Pride At Work: Professional Aviation Safety Specialists: Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union: Roofers and Waterproofers: SAG-AFTRA: Theatrical Stage Employees: Transport Workers Union: UNITE HERE: United Steelworkers: Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 09/08/2022 - 12:51 Tags: MLB Players Association — Sep 8
  • Once 'Essential,' Then Expendable, American Workers are Transforming the Economy
    Once 'Essential,' Then Expendable, American Workers are Transforming the Economy In just one second, Amazon’s executive chairman Jeff Bezos makes nearly $2500. That’s four times the weekly pay of an Amazon delivery or warehouse worker toiling in the sweltering summer heat. Last year alone $6.5 trillion flowed from the bottom 90% of wage earners to the top 1%. That means the janitor who cleans our child’s school, the nurse who cares for our sick father and the grocery clerk who always greets us with a smile are struggling, while the wealthiest among us literally skyrocket into space with bottomless bank accounts. Upward mobility seems out of reach for most Americans. Young people are backsliding with low wages, out-of-control housing prices and crushing health care costs. But our story—the American worker’s story—will not be written by billionaires. This Labor Day, working people are writing a new chapter infused with hope for a brighter future. We’re no longer tolerating being called “essential” one minute and treated as expendable the next. Whether on a manufacturing shop floor, in a high-rise office, in a corner cafe or Amazon warehouse, workers are transforming our economy. Recent data shows that workers won 639 union elections already this year, the highest win total in nearly 20 years. What’s notable is that those victories occurred in many different industries. The heroic organizing efforts at Starbucks and Amazon have captured our imagination. And there have been worker victories big and small across the economy this year. Like the 19,000 graduate researchers in California who won a union for more equitable treatment at universities and nurses in Maine and North Carolina who wore trash bags as makeshift protections against COVID before organizing unions to win safety protections every worker deserves. All across America, workers’ power is growing by the day as more demand the rights and democracy on the job that the laws of the United States promise us all. But too many corporations haven’t moved with the times. At every turn, working people meet resistance from our employers when we try to form a union. Public approval of unions is the highest in my lifetime, a 57-year peak according to a 2022 Gallup survey released this week. Nearly 60 million workers would vote to join a union tomorrow. But far too few get that chance. As president of the AFL-CIO, the umbrella organization of America’s unions, I am elected by everyone from soccer players to construction workers to educators to help all working people make our voices heard. My favorite part of this job is being on the frontlines of these fights with the workers who are leading them. I see a lightbulb go off when people realize we don’t have to accept abysmal working conditions. Instead of quitting jobs in frustration, we can stand together as part of a union, and have the power to demand change. Some corporate executives are evolving, like Microsoft President Brad Smith, who is respecting workers’ freedom to join a union. Microsoft worked with the Communications Workers of America to enter into a labor neutrality agreement at Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, because the company knows allowing workers to join a union is the best way for employers to count their employees as true partners. But Microsoft is the exception, not the rule. Most CEOs still revert to a decades’ old playbook of stifling worker voice, often breaking the law to do so. When employers use retaliation, harassment and illegal firings to try to stop organizing, they reject the best path forward for an equitable economy and basic fairness on the job. No worker should have to stand alone in the face of the power and ruthlessness of billionaire CEOs. That’s why the AFL-CIO is launching an effort this year to resource helping workers unionize at an unprecedented level, making organizing the center of everything we do as a movement. Our new Center for Transformational Organizing aims to level the playing field by uniting our unions in strategic support of workers who are simply fighting for the American Dream of a better, more secure life. Standing together, working people are raising wages that lift up entire communities. We’re solving climate change while creating good jobs with clean energy. We’re investing in the infrastructure that builds our nation’s future. We’re developing technologies like semiconductors to keep America globally competitive. We’re fighting for social and racial justice so economic gains are broadly shared. And we’re making workplaces safer, healthier and free from discrimination. A more democratic workplace is coming. If you are one of the majority of America’s workers who are thinking about joining a union, now is the time. This Labor Day marks the dawn of a new era of worker power. And we’re never going back. This post originally appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 09/08/2022 - 10:30 — Sep 8