Workers Deserve Affordability and Economic Freedom

WHEREAS, America’s working families are facing higher costs for essentials like housing, insurance, groceries and utility bills because of unchecked corporate power and the policies being pushed by the Trump administration; and

WHEREAS, child care costs have become almost prohibitive, and U.S. families spend between 8.9 percent and 16 percent of their median income on full-day care for just one child; and

WHEREAS, healthcare costs are expected to increase by 10 percent over the next year,[1] the Trump administration has ended Medicare price negotiations that lower prescription drugs, and over 100 million people owe $220 billion in medical debt; and

WHEREAS, home ownership is becoming increasingly out of reach as the price of housing[2] continues to rise, property insurance rates have skyrocketed in regions impacted by extreme weather events, and energy bills are rising higher than inflation;[3] and

WHEREAS, companies are engaging in surveillance pricing and increasingly using personal data to set different prices for the same product or service based on individualized personal data; and

WHEREAS, the cost of higher education has become unaffordable for most working families, over 44 million people owe a record $1.8 trillion in student debt, and monthly student loan payments have reached an all-time high; and

WHEREAS, since President Trump took office, inflation has risen, job growth has slowed, consumer sentiment has declined and investment in infrastructure has come to a halt; and

WHEREAS, the Trump administration is dismantling critical agencies like the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ending important consumer protections to boost profits for billionaires and corporations:

RESOLVED, that the AFT will commit to a Workers Deserve Affordability and Economic Freedom campaign to expose and dismantle systemic business practices that raise prices for consumers; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will bring attention to the harms caused by unchecked corporate power, including the eroding of collective bargaining, Trump’s economic policies that benefit billionaires and harm working people, and the dismantling of key consumer protections, and the AFT will make a public demand that lawmakers enact reforms to rein in costs; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will develop a robust member education program, including digital and on-site financial literacy, debt management and retirement savings clinics, on-demand tutorials, and webinars with leading economists and consumer advocates, to help working people have a dignified life they can afford and put money back in the pockets of working people.

Adopted October 16, 2025