NHP news | May 2025

By one vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill on May 22 that guts Medicaid, which supports people from birth to retirement, and keeps rural and community hospitals afloat. The bill also cuts the Pell Grant program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicare; makes college less affordable; and uses public education funding as a piggy bank to create a school voucher program. And why? To give tax cuts to billionaires. Economists say this would be the largest transfer of wealth from the poor and working class to the wealthy in our history. Several more steps remain before this bill becomes law, so we need to keep up the pressure. That starts with letting every representative know that we are watching. Send a letter to your representative today—either thanking them for voting against the bill or urging them to do better. Read AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest column, in which she calls this bill “a betrayal of the American people that must not be passed into law.”  

 

Unions and workplace safety groups sued the Trump administration this month to reverse the illegal dismantling of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a component of the Department of Health and Human Services. The administration shut down vital programs, and the cutbacks directly threaten the lives of workers whose safety and health depend on NIOSH. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the AFT, AFL-CIO and several others. “NIOSH’s job is to protect workers on the job and its gutting is a body blow to the millions of Americans who rely on it to ensure they return home safely every night to their families,” says AFT President Randi Weingarten. The lawsuit follows a May 1 letter from the AFL-CIO and 27 unions urging Congress to intervene to reinstate NIOSH staff and restore its programs.  

 

Pediatric physicians at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, Wash., announced May 22 that they voted to unionize with Northwest Medicine United to have a stronger voice in decisions affecting patient care. The 100 physicians at Mary Bridge (part of the MultiCare system) said they voted to unionize so they can formally engage with hospital administrators through a collective bargaining agreement on decisions that will improve patient care. This effort is part of a growing movement of physicians across the country who are unionizing to protect patient care, address staffing levels and oppose corporate control in medicine. Northwest Medicine United is an affiliate of the AFT and AFL-CIO and serviced by the Oregon Nurses Association.

 

 

As the Trump administration takes aim at higher education, withholding federal funding from colleges and universities that won’t bend to Trump’s will and squelching free speech in the process, it is also attacking student debt relief—a tool that makes college more accessible and affordable to those who might benefit most. Two AFT members talk about how crucial debt relief has been for them in this AFT Voices blog post. On May 8, the AFT held a webinar to discuss changing policies and threats affecting every facet of student aid. If you have questions about student debt, the AFT hosts virtual student debt clinics on a regular basis.  

 

Democracy is under siege at home and abroad—but history shows that authoritarianism can be stopped, and democracy can be rebuilt through courageous, strategic movements and the actions of everyday people. In this webinar, AFT President Randi Weingarten moderated a discussion with leaders of resistance and people-powered movements. The discussion focused on how we work together to turn the tide through education, organized labor and strategic coalition-building.  

 

A coalition of pro-democracy partner organizations, including the AFT, has announced plans for No Kings Day on June 14. It is a national day of action and mass mobilization in response to increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption from President Donald Trump and his allies. The actions are set to take place during the Trump administration’s June 14 military parade in Washington, D.C. Join activists across the country for marches, rallies and demonstrations to reject corrupt, authoritarian politics in the United States. Find an event near you.