Tag: American Federation of Teachers

News Roundup

American Federation of Teachers Applauds Planned Education Department Higher Ed Actions

American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten said that she applauds U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona’s announcement that the Education Department will review multiple higher ed regulations. But she also advocated for immediate student debt forgiveness. “In another clear signal that elections matter, Secretary Cardona has made good on the Biden administration’s promise to […]

May 25, 2021

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Campaign Pushes for Reauthorization of Higher Education Act

On Monday, the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers launched a national joint campaign, in collaboration with the Roosevelt Institute, called “A New Deal for Higher Education,” which advocates for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and large-scale federal investment in the higher education sector.

February 10, 2021

Students

Trump Vetoes Move to Ease Loan Forgiveness for Defrauded Students

President Donald Trump late on Friday vetoed a resolution that would have made it easier for students defrauded by for-profit schools to get their student loans erased.

May 31, 2020

News Roundup

More Than 70 Groups Ask Congress for $250 Billion to Fund State Education

As states contend with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, a coalition of more than 70 organizations have sent a letter to leaders in Congress calling for $500 billion in state stabilization funding, with at least half of that dedicated to K-12 education, higher education and support programs for students from marginalized communities. The letter […]

May 5, 2020

News Roundup

Georgetown U’s Graduate Workers Reach Labor Contract Agreement

Graduate workers at Georgetown University reached an agreement on their first-ever labor contract, winning stipend and cost-of-living increases and an emergency assistance fund. The agreement, which covers more than 1,000 graduate assistants, will see them getting average annual stipend and cost-of-living increases of $5,000. The agreement also established a $50,000 emergency assistance fund and a […]

May 4, 2020

COVID-19

Report: 40% of Contingent and Adjunct Faculty Have Trouble Affording Basic Expenses

As much as 40% of adjunct and contingent faculty at two- and four-year colleges and universities have trouble affording basic household expenses, says a new report that surveyed more than 3,000 such instructors in May-June last year. The report by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), released Monday, further said that a third of survey […]

April 20, 2020

News Roundup

AFT Chief Sues DeVos Over Debt-Forgiveness Program

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has been sued by the American Federation of Teachers for allegedly preventing public employees from accessing a loan-forgiveness program to which they are entitled under federal law. In Weingarten v. DeVos, AFT president Randi Weingarten and seven other plaintiffs state that federal workers have been denied access to the […]

July 12, 2019

Students

Judge Green-Lights Lawsuit Against Student Loan Service Provider

A federal judge has allowed a class-action lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Teachers against student loan servicer Navient to go forward. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in New York issued the opinion in the suit, which AFT filed in autumn 2018. “We are grateful for Judge Cote’s decision, which permits our case to […]

July 9, 2019

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DeVos Discusses Range of Topics at EWA Gathering

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos addressed topics ranging from teacher strikes to the recently introduced Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act in an appearance Monday at the 72nd national seminar of the Education Writers Association.

May 6, 2019

Students

AFT Hits White House as Student Loan Watchdog Chief Resigns

The president of the American Federation of Teachers union is sharply criticizing the Trump administration following a top official’s announcement Monday that he is resigning Friday from the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The departure of Seth Frotman – who has been with the bureau since its creation by Congress in 2011 and has served […]

August 28, 2018

MSIs

New NAACP Youth Leader a Skilled Organizer

Tiffany Dena Loftin arrived this month as the NAACP’s new director of the Youth & College Division at a critical – even urgent – time when many young African-Americans are clamoring for ways to get involved in social justice movements to resist violence and oppression.

February 21, 2018

Faculty & Staff

3 Organizations Assert Support of Faculty Free Speech

As the school year begins at most college campuses, three major academic organizations are making clear their commitment to free speech for university professors.

September 7, 2017