Communities in the small Oregon towns of Lebanon and Lincoln City are breathing a sigh of relief after the news that Samaritan Health Services reversed course and will keep labor and delivery, and emergency surgical services open at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital and Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital.  The decision to preserve these critical healthcare services comes after a months-long campaign led by nurses represented by the Oregon Nurses Association.

Working isn’t just a way to pay the bills, it’s also a way we can pay goodness and loving-kindness forward. Providing protections for workers is not only an abstract theory, it’s a holy act and an opportunity to live our faith-based values. And sanctuaries aren’t limited to houses of worship; every workplace should be a safe place.

Nearly every person in Gaza needs urgent humanitarian assistance. Two million Palestinians have been displaced, and the entire population is facing dire food insecurity. According to UNICEF, 80 percent of those who have died from malnutrition during this war were children.

When history teacher John Klingler heard that someone from his school had been detained on immigration charges, he assumed it was someone else’s kid. So when he recognized the name, it was a “heart shattering” moment.

President Donald Trump has long belittled public libraries. This time around, in his second term, he’s ramping up his hostility toward them.

AFT higher education workers crowded the halls of Morehouse College in Atlanta July 17-20 for the annual American Association of University Professors/AFT Summer Institute, a four-day intensive of workshops and plenaries that addressed the monumental challenges higher education is facing, and shared training and strategy to meet them,

On Aug. 14, Social Security will mark its 90th anniversary—but instead of celebrating, labor leaders and activists say the program faces the gravest threats in its history. Speaking during a virtual town hall on Aug. 7, AFT President Randi Weingarten warned that the Trump administration is pursuing policies aimed at dismantling Social Security.

In another victory for healthcare organizing, more than 200 resource pool nurses working at Legacy hospitals in Oregon and Washington voted overwhelmingly to join the Oregon Nurses Association.

Two AFT members were elected as board officers of the preeminent Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance at its 18th biennial convention this summer, signaling the AFT’s continuing commitment to and involvement with this powerful group of unionists.

In a time marked by fear, division and uncertainty, especially for immigrant communities, the AFT’s Together We Rise citizenship clinics are bright reminders that we can still build connections and strengthen resolve to preserve our democracy.