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Sharing more pathways to student debt relief

As the landscape of student debt shifts, and more and more opportunities allow borrowers to have their debt relieved, the AFT is using every avenue to ensure that the word is out. In affiliate meetings, telephone town halls, media coverage and social media, the union is spreading the news, and at a student debt clinic at AFT headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 31, AFT President Randi Weingarten vowed to reach as many people as possible with information that could save them tens—and sometimes hundreds—of thousands of dollars.

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Oregon Coast United Employees Agrees to Contract with Oregon Coast Community College

The Oregon Coast United Employees (OCUE 6020) approved a contract with Oregon Coast Community College this week. After months of bargaining ended in an impasse, negotiations went into mediation. During the third mediation session, a tentative agreement was finally reached. Nearly two-thirds of the union members then approved the contract, which ratified the collective bargaining agreement with the college.

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2022 Scholarships and Local Awards

At our recent Spring Training event, President Jaime Rodriguez announced the recipients of the AFT-Oregon 2022 Scholarships and Local Awards. Congratulations to the winners!

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Spring Training

Each year, AFT-Oregon offers union training to its local members at “Winter School.” Due to the pandemic, we have moved this year’s training to April 30 at the Salem Convention Center, and we’re calling it “Spring Training.”

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Celebrating student loan relief

“It was like waking up and learning you won the lottery.” That’s just one of the comments flooding the AFT offices from members who are elated to be free of student debt at last. After relentless advocacy, including an AFT lawsuit against former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that was so broken is finally doing what it is supposed to do: delivering relief from student debt for thousands of borrowers. So far, $6.2 billion in student debt has been forgiven for 100,000 public service workers like teachers, nurses and professors.

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Student Debt Clinics - April 4-6

Recently, there have been significant changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) at both the federal level and state level, which significantly increase the number of folks who are now eligible. AFT and AFT-Oregon are once again offering the helpful and popular Student Debt Clinics in April.

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GTFF Files Unfair Labor Practice Claim Against UO

The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, AFT Local 3544, has filed an Unfair Labor Practice claim against the University of Oregon for unilaterally imposing new COVID-19-related workplace policies without negotiation. The UO announced through email a new recording requirement for graduate employees (GEs) who teach in-person classes, directly affecting 950 GEs who have teaching appointments. A new policy that requires employees to be recorded while working is a clear change in working conditions, and changes to working conditions are a mandatory topic of bargaining, meaning the employer cannot unilaterally institute such a policy.

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