Take action today for Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Following months of advocacy by the AFT and others across the country, this week the Biden administration announced it intends to cancel $10,000 of federal student debt for individuals who earn less than $125,000 a year ($250,000, for a couple filing taxes jointly) and up to $20,000 for low-income borrowers who received Pell grants. It will also extend the student loan payment pause implemented at the beginning of the pandemic to Dec. 31. More details are expected in the coming weeks.
The loan forgiveness will be a game-changer for countless CFT members, but there is even more savings potentially available for those who take action now.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was designed to forgive the federal student loans of public service workers. However, for too long the program has been inaccessible to most borrowers. To fix this, recent changes to the PSLF program will give hundreds of thousands of people access to promised loan forgiveness. The deadline to act is October 31, 2022. Don’t wait to take action!
To help complete the PSLF application process, to enroll in income-driven repayment plans, and to find other loan forgiveness programs and get assistance in applying for them, the AFT has partnered with Summer—an online resource that helps borrowers navigate the student loan repayment landscape.
Thousands of AFT members have already joined Summer and are saving, on average, more than $130 per month and $57,000 over the lifetime of their loans. And collectively, AFT members have saved more than $119 million through the AFT-Summer partnership.
To further help you navigate loan forgiveness, the AFT holds weekly online student debt workshops every Thursday at 4 p.m. PT. CFT organizers also help run clinics here in California. To request a CFT training, please follow up with your local union.
CFT Back to School tour in full swing
The CFT Back to School tour continued this week with stops in Los Angeles, Torrance, Aptos, and Lompoc. CFT leaders got a chance to check in with classified workers with the El Camino Classified Union, early educators with the Early Childhood Federation, faculty with the Cabrillo College Federation of Teachers, and K-12 teachers with the Lompoc Federation of Teachers.
Pictured above, CFT leaders join members of the El Camino Classified Union. For more photos from the tour check out CFT’s twitter page.
We recommend a yes vote on Prop 28 to expand arts and music in public schools
The CFT Executive Council recommends a yes vote on Prop 28, which would provide more than $900 million annually for arts and music education in every preK-12 public school.
This measure does not raise taxes because the funding comes from the state General Fund. It benefits students in every public school in California, with extra funding going to help children in high-needs communities, in particular Black and Latinx students.
Prop 28 will provide critical arts, music, and theater education so that California’s public school students receive a rich, well-rounded education.
Learn more about CFT’s recommendations for the seven initiatives on the November ballot.
CFT joins thousands in the State Capitol in support of the United Farm Workers
Today CFT President Jeff Freitas and fellow CFT members joined thousands of United Farm Workers supporters in the State Capitol to march in support of AB 2183, a bill that would ensure farm workers have the right to vote in their union elections free from intimidation.
For more information, including on how you can get involved, go to the UFW campaign web page.
Striking Kaiser workers urge Kaiser members to continue to seek mental healthcare
As the Kaiser mental health strike continues, the striking workers are encouraging all Kaiser members who may need mental health services to seek the care they need. If Kaiser (or any health plan) cannot offer you a timely, accessible appointment within their system, they must arrange for an appointment out-of-network at no added cost to you. It is not your obligation to find a provider or to accept any illegal delays.
Every licensed health plan in California is required to offer mental health appointments within 48 hours (in urgent cases) or every 10 business days (in non-urgent cases), unless a clinician attests that a longer timeline would not be harmful. No patient should settle for less.
If you seek care at Kaiser and are not offered such an appointment, call the California Department of Managed Health Care at 888-466-2219.
To further support the striking Kaiser mental health workers, join them on the picket line. Click here for dates and locations. Their fight is our fight – for the future of healthcare in California.
