Rural Matters Archive

No thrones. No crowns. No kings.

Backed by an enormous labor coalition, AFT members nationwide—including our three national officers—will be turning out for the third No Kings protest tomorrow, Saturday, March 28. This is not just a big-city mobilization. As of today, nearly half of all events are taking place in red areas or battleground districts, and about two-thirds of RSVPs are coming from outside major urban centers. There are events in every congressional district, with strong turnout in states like Texas, Florida and Ohio—and even in smaller states like Idaho, Wyoming and Utah, communities are showing up in meaningful numbers. Find out where the events will be, use the toolkit here, register your event and join our members in rural AFT strongholds for the biggest No Kings Day yet.

AFT Voices: Standing up to fear in Alaska

Alaska nurse Shannon Davenport describes how the growing immigration enforcement presence is undermining trust in healthcare across remote communities. In areas where patients often travel long distances—or even by plane—to access care, fear is causing many to delay treatment until their conditions worsen. In her AFT Voices post, Davenport reflects on how hospitals, once considered sacred safe spaces, no longer feel secure to some patients. With support from the AFT and local hospitals, nurses are learning to advocate for patients while navigating these challenges, determined to protect care in communities where alternatives are scarce.

Working families deserve a tax break

The AFT is pushing forward on one of our key priorities: delivering real tax relief for working families. That’s why we support the Working Americans’ Tax Cut Act, a bill that would put real money back into the pockets of working families by exempting the first $46,000 of income for an individual—or $92,000 for a married couple—from federal income taxes. There has always been a belief that if you work hard and play by the rules, you’ll be OK. But to make that a reality, we need a tax code that benefits workers. Write your members of Congress and urge them to support the Working Americans’ Tax Cut Act.

Our fight for an affordable life

Working people are being crushed by inflation. The cost of housing, utilities, healthcare, child care, college—and even keeping up with credit cards and medical bills—keeps rising, making it harder for us to get by. That’s why we launched our multifront Fight for Affordability campaign—to help our members deal with the costs and debt hurting them and their families. We’re providing resources for our members, including an interactive debt navigator tool, how-to videos and links to the resources you need, and ongoing live debt clinics with experts to answer your questions on medical debt. Click here to see all our resources.

Americans need relief

Americans are paying nearly 60 cents a gallon more to fill up their gas tanks following President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, a war seemingly of choice, not necessity. AFT President Randi Weingarten writes in her latest column that the actual necessity is addressing the economic stress already reverberating across America. The AFT recently surveyed our members—educators, healthcare professionals and public employees—about how they are coping with these rising costs. Read about what we found and how we’re proposing to deal with the affordability crisis.
 

• What one rural hospital means to a community’s survival: In one New York county, AFT members fear that as one of the region’s key hospitals fights to survive, they will lose access to care—and the way of life their families have known for generations.
• Future farmers, future leaders: Agricultural education teacher Sara Casto knows how much farms can teach young people. Today she is passing on that knowledge to her students in Ohio.
• Real skills, real jobs: How one school ditched the "test prep" mentality: When New Lexington Schools realized 80 percent of students didn't have career or college plans after graduation, they implemented a workforce development program that is putting tools in hands and paychecks in pockets.

Resources: Vouchers and a CTE Pell grant

• NCPE: Opposing private school vouchers: A toolkit for legislators and advocates
• EdTrust: How vouchers hurt rural communities
• Brookings: How the Educational Choice for Children Act would benefit the wealthy and underserve rural America
• Economic Policy Institute: The five-alarm fire that public education is facing
• AFT FAQ on Workforce Pell Program

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