NHP news | November 2025

Although Congress has failed to address the affordability crisis, the AFT has been earning wins across the country to improve the lives of working people: new contracts in Oregon; averted strikes and smaller class sizes in Minneapolis; powerful community and literacy programs in St. Louis and Puerto Rico; solidarity with New York City paraprofessionals and Starbucks baristas fighting for what they deserve; and defending higher education while addressing student debt. Join us every week to learn what your union is up to.

In the recent fight over our country’s budget, Republicans weaponized hunger and healthcare for political leverage. Meanwhile, immigrants are being yanked off the streets, educational institutions are being attacked and millions of people are being pushed into deeper economic insecurity. But Americans are standing up—from the ballot box to the No Kings protests—to defend their future. In her latest column, AFT President Randi Weingarten describes why we must continue to fight against power-hungry elected officials and work to elect people who will lower the cost of living, treat people with dignity and strengthen public schools.

 

With the Trump administration’s monthlong government shutdown, Congress’ failure to renew the Affordable Care Act tax credits, and more, we know that our members and families have a lot of questions about healthcare. Join us this Thursday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m. EST, when AFT President Randi Weingarten will host a discussion with Emily Gee from the Center for American Progress and Leslie Dach from Protect Our Care. We’ll expose how the system stacks the deck against working people, explain what to do if your coverage is at risk, and lay out how we can fight back together to protect affordable, high-quality healthcare for every worker.

Every day, millions of Americans are not sure how they’ll afford their next meal. For hospital dietitians like Laura Cordwin and Courtney Iwanicki, the ripple effects of that uncertainty are felt daily in the lives of their patients. At Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor, both women see the direct link between access to food and the health outcomes of the people they serve. As members of United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals, they’ve built stronger networks across departments to better support patients navigating hunger, chronic illness and a system that sometimes fails to meet their most basic needs.

 

Thousands of immigrant families are coming to the New York City immigration courts for routine check-ins and, even when a judge has granted them legal status, many are nabbed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers waiting in the hallways to detain and attempt to deport them. Members of the Professional Staff Congress, the faculty-staff union for the City University of New York, are showing up every week to support these vulnerable individuals in any way they can, providing needed information, communicating with their loved ones if they are arrested and being a supportive presence during a terrifyingly trying time.

Instead of creating safe and supportive working environments, a growing number of healthcare employers are using predatory stay-or-pay contracts to coerce new hires to stay in dangerous, significantly understaffed working conditions. In the fall issue of AFT Health Care, researcher Chris Hicks outlines the rise of predatory contracts in healthcare—and how union-led legal and legislative campaigns are starting to turn the tide.