Hello,

First, I want to say thank you. This was a year of great uncertainty, and a lot of noise. Many of our members were fearful of what this new administration would mean, while others were hopeful that Donald Trump would shake things up and make things better.

Through it all, you worked hard on behalf of our students, our patients and our communities—often without the pay, resources or respect you deserve.

And while we have been thrown many curveballs, with people squeezed because of the increases in prices everywhere, we saw that progress was still possible.

The adage “when you fight you win,” never has had so much resonance for me. Because the opposite is also true; without a fight, virtually nothing changes.

Over the last 12 months, our union has delivered real wins, starting with the Social Security Fairness Act—getting rid of the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, and ensuring millions of people—including tens of thousands of our members in states like California, Illinois, Rhode Island and Texas—can have a better retirement. We also secured a major settlement with the Trump administration that restored public service loan forgiveness for our members and many of the federally subsidized income-driven student debt repayment plans. In case after case, we kept most of the federal dollars allocated to schools intact, although the Department of Education had been effectively (although not legally) dismantled. Localities like Cleveland and states like New York negotiated bell-to-bell cellphone bans to increase engagement and learning. We won safe healthcare staffing agreements in New Jersey and Oregon; and so many of our members from Chicago to Charlotte, from Los Angeles to New Orleans, made it clear that schools need to be gun-free, drug-free, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement-free zones. And we are still breaking organizing records as working people see the value in belonging; more than 35 new local unions and several independent unions chose to join the AFT this year.

That same solidarity is needed as we face what comes next. Working people are being crushed by skyrocketing costs on just about everything, and regardless of what one thinks about the Department of Education, we will fight any politician—Democrat or Republican—who abandons public schools and higher education, kicks millions off healthcare, and wages war on workers’ economic security. The massive tax breaks to corporations and billionaires are fueling so much of this. And as we mourn the tragic recent shooting at Brown University and the terrible antisemitic attack in Australia, we remain steadfast in denouncing violence and hate.

The broken status quo is unacceptable. We are fighting to strengthen our public schools and colleges; to appropriately fund public services; to protect our rights; and to ensure working people cannot just cover life’s necessities but also have a living wage, decent healthcare and a good retirement. We must fight for a better life that people can see, feel—and afford.

You are a crucial part of that fight, and I want to hear directly from you. Please take a moment to fill out this survey. What you share will help guide our work in the year ahead.

We cannot stay silent or stay home. We are trying to meet this moment by fighting back, showing up, speaking out—in Congress and commerce, in the courts and the court of public opinion, in the streets, and at the ballot box. And by caring for each other.

Together, we can reclaim the promise of America and build a better future where working people can truly thrive.

I want to thank every one of you for making a difference in people’s lives every day. I have had the honor to see many AFT members this year, not just at rallies or book talks about public education, but in your classrooms, on campus or at other work sites. Words don’t always capture the power of what you do, so we pulled together a short video of the movement you helped build this year. It's a glimpse of what we’ll carry with us into the fight ahead.

Have a wonderful holiday season.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President