NHP news | December 2025

On Dec. 17, Amy Pacholk, a New York State Public Employees Federation leader and nurse practitioner, spoke on Capitol Hill in support of the Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals Act, a new AFT-endorsed bill aimed at stopping the Trump administration’s proposal to deprofessionalize advanced degrees like nursing, education, social work and more. Pacholk explained why the proposal is disrespectful to people who serve our communities and puts even greater financial burdens on these workers, saying, “This decision by the Department of Education defers the American dream and makes the affordability crisis worse and the healthcare crisis worse.”

 

Workers are being crushed by the soaring costs of basics—housing, healthcare, child care, college, even the cost of keeping up with credit cards or medical bills. This survey will help us identify the most urgent affordability issues and shape the resources we build to help members get the relief they need. Please fill out this confidential AFT Debt Survey and share it with other members.

 

The AFT executive council unanimously voted on Dec. 17 to affiliate with the 1,500-strong Hawaii Nurses and Healthcare Professionals union, which represents Kaiser nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists and laboratory workers. HNHP will secure extensive support and resources from the 1.8 million-member national AFT at the bargaining table and the ballot box to tackle policy and professional issues and boost organizing, legal, research, communications, OSHA, and political and legislative expertise.

“This historic affiliation shows we are truly stronger together,” says AFT President Randi Weingarten. “HNHP members have been on the frontlines in their fight for patient care, dignity, voice and fair pay, and we are so proud to have their backs.”

 

About 80 health professionals at Porter Medical Center in Middlebury, Vt., voted on Dec. 9 to form a union with AFT-Vermont. The hospital is part of the University of Vermont Health Network. The new bargaining unit includes health workers spanning several disciplines, including certified nurse midwives, physician assistants and rehabilitation therapy workers. Jon Ford, a physician assistant and member of the union's organizing committee, told Vermont Public that "unifying elements" were raised throughout the unionization campaign. "I think the most common themes were a desire to have a sustainable profession, a professional life, and strive to have equity within similar roles that are within our maturing health network."

 

On Dec. 2, advanced practice providers at Legacy hospitals—represented by the Oregon Nurses Association—took the difficult step of going on strike. After nearly two years of negotiations, the bargaining team for 135 APPs is still fighting for a first contract that supports patients by strengthening recruitment and retention of high-quality providers and ending inequitable practices such as unpaid work. These APPs serve patients across Legacy hospitals and clinics throughout the Portland metro area and Southwest Washington, and include nurse practitioners, physician associates, certified nurse midwives and clinical nurse specialists.

 

Despite freezing temperatures and gusting winds, more than 70 nurses and community supporters protested staffing reductions at Providence Alaska Medical Center on Dec. 15 to ensure patient safety. The Alaska Nurses Association organized the Safe Staffing Rally to protest staffing cuts that nurses say heighten safety risks and threaten the quality of care they can provide. “We are in a fight against Providence and what they’re trying to do in our hospital. We cannot stand by and let them continue. We need to speak up for our patients’ safety,” said Jane Erickson, a registered nurse and vice president of the Providence Registered Nurses bargaining unit of AaNA.

 

For a long time, Target was everyone’s darling, and its diversity, equity and inclusion programs won customer loyalty, especially among Black and Latino shoppers. But shortly after President Trump took office in January 2025, Target abandoned those policies. Customers are not having it, and as the holiday season is upon us, the AFT has joined a renewed Target boycott that is gaining momentum.