The prevailing message from speakers at the American Federation of Teachers鈥� convention: U.S. democracy is in trouble, and educators must keep fighting for change鈥攂eginning with the looming midterm elections.
On Friday, first lady Jill Biden, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, and U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both Democrats from Massachusetts, spoke to more than 2,000 union delegates gathered here, urging them to organize, canvass, and vote in the upcoming midterm elections. Labor organizers鈥攊ncluding AFL-CIO President Elizabeth Shuler, Amazon Labor Union President Chris Smalls, and those from Starbucks Workers United鈥攁lso addressed the crowd, promoting union solidarity.
鈥淲e have to come together as AFT always has and demand that we need to be heard,鈥� Biden said. 鈥淯nderestimate the power of this coalition at your own risk.鈥�
The midterms are in four months, and Democrats are expected to lose control of the U.S. House of Representatives and are fighting hard to keep control of the Senate. The national teachers鈥� unions, which traditionally favor the Democratic Party, are urging their members to donate to and campaign for politicians who support education and labor.
鈥淲e must vote in November as if our lives depend upon it, because they do,鈥� AFT President Randi Weingarten said in her keynote speech on Thursday. 鈥淵ou held our institutions together during the pandemic. ... Now we need to hold our democracy together.鈥�
She continued: 鈥淚 know we are tired. I know we are exhausted. But if we don鈥檛 do it, it ain鈥檛 gonna happen.鈥�
It鈥檚 time to use our 鈥榯eacher voice,鈥� Biden said
Biden gave a 10-minute address to the crowd of educators and other union delegates, whom she called her family. The first lady has been an educator for almost four decades and now teaches English at a community college in northern Virginia鈥攕he just signed her contract to teach in the fall semester, she told delegates. She is a member of the National Education Association, but Weingarten bestowed 鈥渉onorary membership of the AFT鈥� on her as well.
鈥淲e believe that there is something profoundly optimistic about education,鈥� Biden said. 鈥淭o answer this call of service is, in itself, an act of hope. And we need that hope now more than ever.鈥�
Teaching has become harder than ever, Biden acknowledged. (EdWeek Research Center survey data shows that teacher job satisfaction is at an all-time low as educators grapple with the stress of the pandemic and staff shortages.)
Even so, teachers are the ones making sure they have snacks for their students who are hungry, preparing their class for active-shooter drills, and telling children that change is possible, Biden said. And they鈥檙e doing all of that despite public attacks on teachers, she said.
鈥淭here is so much weight on all of you, but you carry it,鈥� she said.
The first lady touted her husband鈥檚 accomplishments over the past nearly two years, including the $122 billion in COVID-19 relief aid for schools and the recent signing of bipartisan gun legislation, which contains measures to limit who can access firearms and additional funding for mental health support and more security in schools.
But there鈥檚 still much more to do, Biden said, including banning AR-15 assault-style weapons, protecting abortion rights, making community college free, and reducing the cost of child care. Teachers, she said, can help move these goals forward.
鈥淵es, we need to vote in races at every single level, and we need to remember that voting is the bare minimum,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have to get involved in the local governments that decide how cities plan their budgets and protect their students. We have to stand up for justice and equity. All of us have a teacher voice for when things go off the rails, and now is the time to use it.鈥�
Student loan debt should be canceled, Warren says
Warren dedicated the majority of her speech to calling for the cancellation of student loan debt, which she said is a 鈥渞acial justice issue and a gender justice issue.鈥�
Women鈥攚ho make up most of the teaching profession鈥攈old almost two-thirds of the country鈥檚 student loan debt, with Black women disproportionately burdened. The NEA has found that Black educators have significantly more student debt than their white peers鈥�$68,000 compared to $54,300, on average.
Warren pointed to another statistic from the NEA鈥�65 percent of teachers under the age of 35 have taken out loans.
鈥淢illions of teachers are drowning in student loan debt,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need student loan debt relief, and we need it now. This is a fight, and teachers are fighters.鈥�
For more than a year, Warren has been calling on President Joe Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt. The president is reportedly going to announce his decision on debt forgiveness soon. The Washington Post reported in May that at that time to forgive up to $10,000 in student debt per borrower.
In the meantime, the U.S. Department of Education has been attempting to overhaul the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which is meant to forgive the debt of public service workers after they make 120 monthly, on-time payments toward their loan. But the program was riddled with red tape, and the vast majority of applications for forgiveness were denied.
Last October, the Biden administration announced it would temporarily waive many requirements retroactively, so that more people could qualify. As of early May, more than 127,000 borrowers have qualified for forgiveness under these changes, according to the department.
Borrowers who have not yet applied for public service loan forgiveness have to do so before Oct. 31 to benefit from these changes. Advocacy groups and labor unions, including the NEA and AFT, have called on the administration to extend the changes past October so more people can benefit.
During the convention, delegates are expected to consider a resolution calling for the president to sign an executive order to cancel all federal student debt before Aug. 1, when the pause on federal student loan payments that鈥檚 been in place since March 2020 is set to expire. This resolution was submitted by the Chicago Teachers Union.
Delegates are also poised to consider resolutions expressing solidarity with Ukraine, support for community schools, and a defense against anti-LGBTQ legislation.
