#Teachers sue #Trump admin for stopping affordable #StudentLoan repayment plans

The American Federation of Teachers represents 1.8 million educators.

By Leah Sarnoff, March 19, 2025

"One of America's largest unions is taking aim at President Donald Trump's administration for shutting down access to affordable student loan repayment plans -- saying the decision is 'effectively breaking' the system.

"The American Federation of Teachers (#AFT), representing 1.8 million educators across the country, filed a lawsuit against the #DepartmentOfEducation in Washington, D.C., hoping to restore the programs that have now been shuttered for three weeks.

"The filing alleges the administration halting the application process for all Income-Driven Repayment (#IDR) plans and ordering student loan servicers to stop all processing violates #FederalLaw.

"AFT sued the United States Department of Education (ED) for effectively breaking the student loan system, denying borrowers' access to affordable loan payments and blocking progress towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness (#PSLF), in violation of federal law,' the union said in a statement Wednesday."

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/teachers-sue-trump-admin-stopping-affordable-student-loan/story?id=119965907
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #BadDOGE #ResistDOGE #Authoritarianism #USPol

Hey- #uaw #nea #seiu #afscme #Teamsters #ufcw #usw #aft #ibew #liuna #iamaw #cwa #ubcja #ilwu #iuoe #ua #nalc #afge #apwu #iaff #UniteHere #npmhu #atu #anu #iatse #iasmartw #iupat #iabsoriw #twua #opeiu #nrlcu you watching this? https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:twjze4qqf6fgxz33ct52wlnl/post/3lk2lofqgoc2i

#Providence Health: 5000 nurses, doctors on #strike. "Providence used to be a nice community hospital, and now it’s venture capital with health care as a side gig."

https://www.labornotes.org/2025/01/nurses-and-doctors-are-strike-eight-oregon-hospitals

#AmnestyInternationalUSA Urges No Vote on #HR9495

November 12, 2024

"#Amnesty International USA warns that language in H.R. 9495 poses an alarming threat to the work of U.S. civil society organizations who document #HumanRights abuses around the world and urges members of Congress to vote against it.

"If enacted, this legislation would grant the Secretary of the Treasury broad discretionary powers to terminate the tax-exempt status of nonprofit organizations based solely on a subjective declaration that they are 'terrorist supporting organizations.'

"'In any other context, this legislation would be seen for what it is, a play from the #authoritarian leader’s playbook,' said Paul O’Brien, Executive Director at Amnesty International USA.

"The broad and vague authority to terminate non-profit status in the name of 'counterterrorism' is a practice that many governments have used to target civil society organizations. There are no safeguards to prevent H.R. 9495’s broad authority from being misused to harass or intimidate organizations for exercising their rights.

"The bill includes no due process for organizations deemed to be supporting 'terrorist' groups. The Secretary of the Treasury can use 'classified information' to make these designations without permitting nonprofits to review or challenge such evidence in federal courts. The loss of tax-exempt status similarly has no due process guarantees and would inflict economic harm and legally burden nonprofit organizations.

"Amnesty International USA joins more than 100 #CivilSociety groups, including #ACLU, #BrennanCenter, #PublicCitizen, #AFT, #NEA, #LCV, #CAP, #Indivisible, #NAACP, #ReproductiveFreedomForAll, and #NationalWomensLawCenter to oppose this legislation.

"'This bill, if it becomes the law, would not require officials to explain the reason for designating a group, nor does it require any evidence,' continued O’Brien. 'Members of Congress must recognize the danger posed and vote down this bill that could shrink civic space and silence civil society organizations.'"

https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/amnesty-international-usa-urges-no-vote-on-h-r-9495/

#USpolitics #WorkersUnite #UAW #AFT #ShawnFain

"AFT Signs On to UAW's Push for 2028 General Strike"
by Julia Conley for Common Dreams [Jul 24, 20'24]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/general-strike-us

Quotes:
"United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain applauded the teachers union for helping to push for a "mass movement" for workers' rights."

""We want to create a mass movement—a general strike if we have to—to win our fair share not just for workers here but for... working-class people all over this globe," said Fain. [Shawn Fain pres. UAW JdeB] "You guys passed a resolution to push unions to do just that... And that's how we do this. When we fight and when we win, people want to be a part of that, they want to join the movement."

"Fain said earlier this year that the nation's workers "should have stood up and walked the hell out" in 1980 when then-President Ronald Reagan fired air traffic controllers who went on strike. "We missed the opportunity then, but we're not going to miss it in 2028. That's the plan. We want a general strike. We want everybody walking out just like they do in other countries," said Fain in January."

"The AFT said in its resolution that it would encourage all of its locals "to consider this common expiration as a useful tactic in the fight to advance racial, economic, and social justice."

#VoteBlue #UpAndDownTheBallot #ImWithHer
#CapitalismIsFailingYou #WorkersUnite

#UnionStrong #Solidarity #Strike
#IWW #ILWU #UAW #CFA #AFT

New instance, first introductory post:

I teach American history at Colorado State University - Pueblo where I cover everything after the Civil War. With respect to research, I specialize in food history. I used to be "that guy who hates MOOCs," and still spend a lot of time on edtech issues, just not publicly anymore. I'm a longtime member of the #AAUP who's working with them and the #AFT to organize my campus and my whole state university system.