News from AFT Public Employees

Current Issue - January 2026

Sometimes a week can feel like a year

In her most recent video update, AFT President Randi Weingarten addresses the violence shaking our communities, from the border to our public institutions. She also highlights how we are holding power accountable: defending our members’ constitutional rights, challenging funding cuts for community schools, and securing victories for working families. Examples include a historic first contract for Legacy Health workers in Oregon after a 29-day strike and protecting healthcare tax credits for millions of Americans. A better life is possible with a union.

Restore loan fairness for professionals

Rep. Tim Kennedy (D-N.Y.) has introduced the Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals (LEAP) Act, legislation aimed at restoring fairness in federal student lending for those pursuing advanced degrees in critical service professions. Standing alongside Kennedy and other lawmakers and advocates was Amy Pacholk, a critical care nurse and member of the New York State Public Employees Federation. Read what she had to say in this AFT Voices post.

Maryland member dies after assault on the job

City Union of Baltimore (CUB) member Gregory Turnipseed died in November from head injuries he sustained after trying to intercede in an argument over a downtown parking spot—and being brutally punched and kicked for his trouble. Turnipseed, a 14-year veteran of the city’s department of transportation, died the day before Thanksgiving, more than a month after the attack. He had last served as a traffic investigator. CUB President Antoinette Ryan-Johnson expressed her heartbreak over the death and anger that the city had not notified CUB of the assault until after Turnipseed died.

How is debt affecting your life?

Workers are being crushed by the soaring costs of basics like housing, healthcare, child care and college. Two-thirds of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck—and our members are not immune; they are feeling this pressure, too. Every trip to the grocery store is a reminder that the economy isn’t working for working people. Just as we did when we first tackled student debt, we’re starting by listening. This short survey will take only a few minutes and will help us identify the most urgent affordability issues to address first. Your answers will help us do the work that will make a real difference in everyday life.

ICE out of our communities

We have witnessed unconscionable acts of violence by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, including the murder of Renee Nicole Good, the unjust detention of an AFT member and the use of pepper spray on school property. ICE’s operations are endangering the safety and well-being of families, and our members are pushing back in a myriad of ways. You can help kids and colleagues understand this tragedy with a free lesson on the AFT’s Share My Lesson; sign a petition with union members in Minnesota; and/or write your members of Congress to demand ICE respect sensitive locations like churches, homes and schools.

Remembering the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Gratitude for the helpers

As we face the year ahead, AFT President Randi Weingarten is reminded of Mister Rogers’ adage to look for the helpers. In her latest column, she lifts up those countering the cruelty, fear and divisiveness we’ve seen from the Trump administration. Most people who voted for the president wanted him to make their lives better. Instead, he broke his promise to make life more affordable, while waging an unprecedented assault on our neighbors, abandoning the federal role in education, gutting healthcare, targeting rivals and helping the rich get richer. Rather than buckling under these attacks, countless Americans have stood up and declared: “Not on my watch.”

Health providers rally for safe staffing

Despite freezing temperatures and gusting winds, more than 70 nurses and community allies protested staffing cuts at Providence Alaska Medical Center last month. The Alaska Nurses Association organized the Safe Staffing Rally to protest staffing cuts that nurses say heighten safety risks and threaten how much care they can provide. “We need to speak up for our patients’ safety,” said Jane Erickson, a registered nurse and vice president of the Providence Registered Nurses. Meanwhile, the headwinds facing Shannon Davenport’s path to nursing were shaped by loss. She has learned that empathy and advocacy define nursing. In a blog for AFT Voices, Davenport reflects on fear as a constant companion in nursing—one that must be faced.