Hello,

A few weeks ago, I testified before the Senate Banking Committee and asked the Biden administration to cancel borrowers’ student debt up to $50,000. Now I could use your help.

We need to show President Joe Biden and our lawmakers the impact that student loan debt has on our lives and what a difference debt cancellation would make—not just for our members but for all working Americans who have taken out student loans. Will you take five minutes and tell your story here?

Our union represents 1.7 million educators, nurses, healthcare workers, higher education faculty and staff, and public employees. In other words, AFT members work in professions that make a difference in the lives of others—professions that require college degrees, which means our members have been increasingly burdened by unsustainable college debt.

Over the last year and a half, our members have done heroic work, keeping our communities up and running, caring for patients in COVID-19 wards, getting people vaccinated, and educating our children during a school year like no other. They’ve worked to keep their communities safe and healthy amid the myriad crises facing our nation, and they have experienced higher job stress than ever before

Borrowers need real relief, not a mirage. If the administration does not cancel student debt for public service workers, millions of working Americans will be forced to transfer the loans currently serviced by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency/FedLoan Servicing to new servicers that will inherit loans with paper trails that can never be untangled.

The problem is clear, and the solution is too: The administration should cancel up to $50,000 of debt per borrower and cancel debt for all public service workers who have made payments on their federal loans for a decade and are eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Click here to share your story with the U.S. Department of Education.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT president