Prez Mulgrew Speaks On Health Care Coverage

From UFT President Michael Mulgrew:

At the Oct. 16 Delegate Assembly, I was asked a few questions from retiree delegates about withdrawing our support for Medicare Advantage. I thought I would take this opportunity to be clear on our position.

As I announced in June, the UFT has withdrawn its support for the city’s Medicare Advantage plan. Over the summer, I wrote letters to both the Municipal Labor Committee and the court to make our position official. The UFT is the only union in the MLC that has officially withdrawn its support for the city’s plan.

This issue is still being fought in court. We have heard our members on this issue, and our opposition to the city’s Medicare Advantage plan is firm. If the courts decide to allow the city to move forward with its plan, we will fight that decision.

We will keep you updated as the case makes its way through the courts.
Sincerely,
Michael Mulgrew
UFT President




Randi Speaks Truth To Power




Randi Speaks Truth To Power

Every election is important, but this one is the most important in my lifetime (and I am 67 years old!).

Nov. 5, Election Day, is two weeks away, but millions of Americans have already voted early, and by all accounts this election is close.

Your voice and vote really matter.

I just narrated a video about the stakes of this election and the contrast between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Please share it. I tried in 3 1/2 minutes to get to the essence and cut through the disinformation saturating social media.

I’m also inviting you to join me for the AFT’s town hall on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. EDT.

You—AFT members: educators, healthcare practitioners, public employees and retirees—are some of the most trusted members of your communities. You are difference-makers for kids, families and communities every day, and that’s why people want to know what you think about this election.

2024 Election: Hope, Freedom and Opportunity Are on the Ballot
Please watch and share this video with your friends and family.

We need a president who will help our families. Kamala Harris has a plan to make life more affordable: She’ll cut taxes for more than 100 million Americans. She’s taking on the price gougers; will lower the cost of housing, groceries, energy and healthcare; and wants to allow Medicare to cover home care costs for seniors. Harris supports public schools, Social Security and workers’ right to unionize. She cherishes our freedoms and fights for opportunity for all of us. She cares about us.

Donald Trump has a different plan. He coddles billionaires. He will once again cut taxes for the rich while making the rest of us pay for it. He’ll raise taxes on the middle class, defund public schools, decimate labor unions, eliminate overtime and impose tariffs, which are no more than a tax on everyday items.

Regardless of Trump’s dystopian darkness, we are not enemies—we are Americans, all of us, who want a brighter future for ourselves and our families.

Share our newest video with your networks:

Facebook
Threads
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn

And after you’ve shared the video, sign up to join our town hall next Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. EDT.

A better future is within our grasp. Progress is possible—but we have to vote, and we have to get out the vote.

Please share the video today and call in for the town hall next week.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President



Randi Speaks Out To Act



Dear AFT Friends,


Did you know that early voting is open in your state?

Click here to request your mail-in ballot and vote early!

National elections are always important. But this one may be the most important in our lifetimes, so your vote really matters. At our national convention in July, AFT members overwhelmingly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. And imagine our joy when she selected a teacher and former AFT member, Gov. Tim Walz, for vice president.

We support Harris and Walz because, on every measure—healthcare, education, labor and democracy—they are fighting for our members, our students, our patients and our communities. They are fighting to make life better for working people, and they are building on the Biden-Harris administration’s rebuilding of the economy. Just look at the September jobs report for proof; inflation and unemployment are going down and wages and jobs are going up.

Harris and Walz will make life better for working people by strengthening public schools and creating pathways to college and good union jobs straight out of high school. They will protect our freedoms, such as access to reproductive healthcare and the right to organize for better pay and safer working conditions.

In sharp contrast, Donald Trump and JD Vance are working to move our country backward. Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for the next Republican president, tells the whole story: It proposes eviscerating public schools, undermining unions, hurting families facing crushing student debt, and cutting taxes for wealthy donors—leaving millions of working Americans to fight for scraps.

As some of the most trusted members of our communities, AFT members and supporters must vote. Click here to request your mail-in ballot and vote early.

Jacky Rosen voted to get America back on its feet by investing $1.9 billion in Nevada’s infrastructure, $213 million in Nevada’s colleges and their students, and more than $2.7 billion to create millions of good jobs for Nevadans, while securing $3 billion for high-speed rail connecting Las Vegas to Southern California. Jacky will continue to fight in the Senate to raise the minimum wage, build more affordable housing for working families, and pass legislation to guarantee the right of public employees to organize and bargain.

These candidates will fight for us. But we need to get them elected first. Click here to learn how you can vote early, make your plan to vote, and then make sure your friends and family have a plan to vote too.

This election will be won by inches, not yards. It will come down to what we do now to vote, talk with neighbors, knock on doors, and organize our communities for a better future. None of us wants to wake up on Nov. 6 wishing we could have done more.

So check your voter registration status. Make your plan to vote. Vote early if you can. And encourage your loved ones to do the same.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President




SSA Announces a 2.5% COLA Increase for Social Security Beneficiaries



The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a 2.5% cost-of-living (COLA) benefit
increase for 2025 on Thursday.

“The 72.6 million Americans who rely on their earned Social Security and Supplemental Security
Income benefits will undoubtedly benefit from this modest cost-of-living increase“,” said Joseph
Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “However, for far too many Americans, it will not be enough.”

The increase amounts to an additional $48 per month for the average retired worker.
“We welcome the news of an increase, but many older Americans struggle to make ends meet
and afford even the most basic necessities like housing, food, and prescription drugs,” added
Fiesta. “We need a COLA that better reflects how seniors spend their money. Strengthening
Social Security and increasing benefits must be a national priority. If billionaires and the top 1% pay their fair share into the system, we can afford to increase benefits across the board and
ensure Social Security is there for our children and grandchildren.”

Many Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail continue to propose cuts to
the benefits seniors have earned over a lifetime of hard work; raising the retirement age, slashing benefits and privatizing the program are among retirees’ top concerns.



Check Your Voter Registration



AFT Member: Your vote matters. But if you aren’t registered, you won’t be able to vote.

Everything you care about as educators, healthcare practitioners, public employees and retirees hangs in the balance this year. And the contrast between the candidates is stark: The Sept. 10 debate made that clear.

You need to be registered to vote. Today is National Voter Registration Day. Please take five minutes to check your voter registration status—and to register to vote if you haven’t already.


The AFT has endorsed Kamala Harris for president and Tim Walz for vice president because they are fighting for all of us not just to get by but to get ahead. Harris and Walz want to make life better for working people by improving access to great public schools and creating pathways to college and good union jobs straight out of high school. They are working to increase access to housing and healthcare, take on medical debt and price gouging, strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and ensure freedoms like reproductive healthcare and the right to organize. And they are committed to making our schools and streets safer by tackling gun violence.

But they need to get elected first. Click here and confirm that you’re registered to vote, and then make a plan to vote .

We cannot allow extremists like Donald Trump and JD Vance to drag us backward after all the progress we’ve made together. This election is going to be close. It’s up to us to show up at the polls and to ensure our loved ones and neighbors turn out to vote as well.

Please take a few minutes to confirm that you’re registered to vote here, and share the link with your friends and family so they can make sure they are too.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President



AFT Labor Day Message




AFT Labor Day Message:

It’s Labor Day, and unions continue to be at their highest favorability levels.

We know why: Unions are how we create a better life for ourselves, our families and our communities. Through our unions, we fight for the teaching and learning conditions that educators and support staff need to help students thrive, the safe staffing that healthcare workers need to help patients, and the safe working conditions that public employees need to better serve communities. Through our unions, we fight for the living wage, dignified retirement and high-quality healthcare you and your family deserve.

And we fight for elected officials who share our values. That’s why this year we are celebrating Labor Day in Detroit alongside our members and Vice President Kamala Harris.

As I said in my speech before the Democratic National Convention, one of the lessons my students taught me is to walk the walk. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz walk the walk.

This Labor Day, on behalf of myself and my fellow national officers Fedrick and Evelyn, I want to extend our deepest gratitude to each of you—the 1.8 million members of the AFT—and our steadfast allies who continue to stand in solidarity with us. We are profoundly thankful for your unwavering commitment. Every day, you make a difference in people’s lives. That is the essense of who we are as a union. And despite the escalating attacks from figures like JD Vance and Donald Trump—attacks that intensify as the election draws nearer—you embody the very best of America.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz share our values.

They are not just building on the progress made by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris—they’re creating opportunities and fighting for our freedoms. Just take a look at their plans:

Lower housing costs and build 3 million new homes.
Fix the student debt crisis and tackle medical debt, knowing how many families live in fear because they are one illness away from bankruptcy.
Fight for affordable child care and revive the child tax credit.
Stand up for workers’ rights, including the freedom to organize and bargain.
These policies are pro-family and pro-worker, as was Harris’ choice of an educator and AFT member as her running mate.

So it’s no surprise that JD Vance attacked me—and by extention, every teacher, including nuns, who have not given birth to children. My family and I can handle the attacks, but it’s beyond the pale to demean families that don’t fit in Vance’s narrow view—stepparents, adoptive parents and so on. And to attack teachers who are right now working hard to welcome parents and their children into safe, welcoming and engaging classrooms as this school year begins—that speaks volumes about Vance’s character and priorities.

The choice in this election couldn’t be clearer.

The AFT is part of the labor activism sweeping the nation. We’re growing, and we’re the largest we’ve ever been. While more work remains, inflation is cooling, the Biden-Harris administration has created more jobs than any other in history, and America’s economy is the strongest in the world—powered by America’s workers.

We know that progress is possible but not guaranteed. That’s why we keep marching.

This November, we need to be all in. All of us. None of us can do this alone.

Here are three things you can do today:

Check your voter registration status. Even if you think you’re registered, check today.
AFT members can sign up to volunteer. We’ll have opportunities for AFT members to canvass, phone-bank, text-bank, and attend our bus tour rallies and town halls.
Sign up to be in our videos pushing back on JD Vance’s attacks on families and teachers.
Thank you, and keep marching.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President



JD Vance is Dangerous





Dear AFT/UFT member:

JD Vance is doubling down on the latest unearthed example of his disparaging comments about teachers and modern families: but as a new school year begins, we can’t ignore it when he attacks teachers and undermines children, parents, and families.

Add your name to demand JD Vance and his allies stop the attacks on educators.

The recently surfaced clip shows Vance ranting about how educators like me want to “brainwash and destroy the minds of children.” To make matters worse, he then says that teachers who do not have biological children should “leave ours the hell alone.”

It sure seems like Vance lacks an empathy gene—thank goodness he’s not a teacher. He doesn’t get that you don’t have to be a parent to care about kids, our neighbors, our communities and our country.

While Vance plays the culture-war card, which is just a corrosive form of politics, AFT educators all across the country are solution-driven, giving books away to children—10 million to date; implementing free breakfast and lunch programs in schools; standing up for community schools and social services to help all children find academic success; and, just this year, creating career and technical education pathways in advanced manufacturing and healthcare to prepare and train students for well-paying jobs and professions.

Donald Trump, JD Vance, and their school board allies—backed by billionaire donors like Betsy Devos—are laser focused on defunding public education and bullying so many loving families across America.

Teachers want what children need. I am blessed to be a mom by marriage, but it’s irrelevant to whether any of us care about children. This week, as teachers are digging into their pockets to pay for school supplies and welcoming kids and parents into their classrooms, we should all be celebrating the hope and promise of a new school year, not trashing it with gross, ridiculous comments like Vance’s.

Tell JD Vance to devote his energy to helping educators and school staff support students, not make it harder for teachers to teach and children to learn.

Vance’s attacks on families’ private lives and safe, inclusive schools is part of an extreme agenda driven by anger and divisiveness that includes abolishing the Department of Education, undermining the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) Act, cutting funding from Pell Grants for students, and opposing debt relief for family members who are paying a penalty for simply seeking a degree. Oh, and of course Vance is also on the record attacking universities and declaring that professors are the “enemy of the people.”

Trump and Vance’s friends at Project 2025 also call for eliminating funding for Title I schools which serve the students and communities in greatest need of investment, all while tearing down the separation of church and state, censoring honest history, and punishing educators for their personal lives.

Enough is enough.


Add your name to tell JD Vance and his allies in school boards and elected positions across the country that you will only vote for pro-public school, pro-family candidates this November.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President



Current Health Care News




Dear UFT Member:

We’re writing to provide an important update on some current health care news.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Anthem (formerly Empire BlueCross BlueShield) have been engaged in contentious contract renewal negotiations. Anthem is the part of the New York City GHI-CBP and GHI Senior Care plans that provides the hospital portion of those city health care plans.

Anthem has alerted us that this week, MSK may start mailing letters to all current patients with Anthem coverage (GHI-CBP, GHI Senior Care and all other Anthem NYC health plans) notifying them that MSK facilities may become out-of-network on Jan. 1, 2025, if they are unable to reach an agreement. We recognize that this has the potential to cause great concern.

We want all members who are MSK patients to rest assured that there are legal protections for the continuation of care for current patients and that regardless of the outcome of the contract, your treatment will not be interrupted.

The UFT has had a special relationship with both organizations. Our Welfare Fund has a partnership with MSK, offering the concierge MSK Direct program. We do not want this important service to be in jeopardy for future use.

These contract renewals with various services and providers happen all the time and are part of the ongoing work of maintaining our high-quality health care. We fully expect that a resolution will ultimately be reached.

It is the UFT’s priority to ensure that MSK never drops out of our network, and we will do everything in our power to make certain that it doesn’t. Throughout this negotiation, we, as part of the Municipal Labor Committee, will push both sides to come to a fair agreement that allows us to maintain the critical services that MSK provides for our members as part of our city health plans.
We will keep you updated as we hear more.

Sincerely,
Michael Mulgrew

UFT President



Your Union, Your Well-being




We're excited to announce the UFT Member Assistance Program's new partnership with Vibrant Emotional Health. Together, we've created a dedicated union phone number available 24/7 to offer you free, confidential mental health support. If you are feeling distressed, in need of a referral, or in a crisis situation, our licensed counselors are available to give immediate help.

UFT helpline
1-866-UFT-FOR-U *
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
All languages are available upon request.
A counselor will request your union ID number to identify you as a UFT member.

Always be Prepared
Print or Bookmark the Flier
We understand that you may not need this resource right now, but unexpected life events often happen.

Bookmark or print this flier for quick access to this important member benefit.


Kamala Answers Extremists




The AFT’s delegates are all-in for Kamala Harris, from seniors waiting patiently to enter the convention center in Houston to parents carrying children on their shoulders—and even a newborn in a bassinet. As one delegate said, “It’s a whole new energy.”

The AFT was the first union to endorse Vice President Harris, and Harris chose the AFT for her first major union event following her emergence as the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Introducing Harris, AFT President Randi Weingarten said that “Kamala Harris has led the fight for our freedoms to make our own decisions about our own bodies, to live safe from gun violence [and] … to join a union.” She also rallied the lively delegates to “shatter every record for voter turnout.”

Harris had to wait for the cheering to subside before opening with a thank you, first to President Joe Biden, then to AFT members. She praised the president as a true leader: “Over the past three and a half years, and over his entire career, Joe has led with grace and strength.” She added, “You … have taken on the most noble of work.”

Calling the members of the AFT visionaries who are focused on the future, she urged us to mobilize. “We need you so desperately right now.” Harris contrasted the Democratic vision with that of former President Donald Trump’s. “In our vision of the future, we see a place where every person has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead, a future where no child has to grow up in poverty, where every senior can retire with dignity and where every worker has the freedom to join a union. We see a future with affordable healthcare, affordable childcare and paid leave, not for some, but for all.”

Harris to Trump: ‘Bring it on’

“We are clear-eyed,” Harris said. “As we work to build a brighter future and to move our nation forward, there are those who are really trying to take us backward, … to return America to a dark past.” She described Donald Trump’s agenda, written out in Project 2025: failed trickle-down economic policies, union-busting, tax breaks for billionaires, cuts to Medicare and Social Security, an end to student loan forgiveness and ending Head Start.

Harris said, “We are not going back. … And one of the best ways to keep our nation moving forward is to give workers a voice, to protect the freedom to organize, to defend the freedom to collectively bargain, to end union-busting.”

Harris urged members to fight the good fight in the crucial weeks until November and beyond. “In this moment, across our nation, we witness a full-on attack on hard-won, hard-fought freedoms. While you teach students about democracy, … extremists attack the sacred freedom to vote. ... They have the nerve to tell teachers to strap on a gun in the classroom while they refuse to pass commonsense gun safety laws. And while you teach students about our nation’s past, these extremists attack the freedom to learn and acknowledge our nation’s true and full history. … Just think about it. … We want to ban assault weapons, and they want to ban books.”

She brought the crowd to its feet with a challenge: “In this moment, we are in a fight for our most fundamental freedoms, and to this room of leaders, I say, bring it on.”

She ended, “We each in our country face a question. … What kind of country do we want to live in: a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate? The beauty of our democracy is that we each have the power to answer that question—when we vote.”



“AFT for Harris-Walz” Membership Town Hall




To AFT Members:

We’re kicking off this election season with an “AFT for Harris-Walz” membership town hall on Thursday, Aug. 15, at 6 p.m. EDT. The AFT is rallying behind Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for the White House. Join us to learn how you can be a part of this historic effort. We’ll have a special guest, along with AFT leaders who will share our strategic plans to help elect Harris-Walz. This election cycle, our union has a unique chance to make a lasting impact—don’t miss out!

During the town hall, we’ll answer your questions about this election, discuss our union’s strategy to win and have a special guest who we’ll announce next week.

Please register and ask your questions today.

Go To: https://aft.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JLdcUdlXQleWc9GQvwoFWg#/registration?link_id=2&can_id=d3436eb081adedb0ecf0ec3f43e56699&source=email-lets-elect-an-aft-member-vice-president-4&email_referrer=email_2414855&email_subject=the-aft-is-kicking-off-our-election-efforts-this-week .

Our union is poised to make a difference in this election. We have members in every swing state as well as in key swing districts. There will be opportunities for members across the country to get involved.

I am excited to discuss our plan with you. Sign up now.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President



Harris Picks Gov Tim Walz for VP




AFT’s Weingarten on Kamala Harris’ Selection of Tim Walz as Her Running Mate

‘The future starts here—and we are not going back’

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten released the following statement after Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate:

“Gov. Walz has been an unabashed champion for families, for public education, for educators and other worker throughout his life in public service. He knows the promise of public education. He shares our commitment to solving problems and forging a future in which all Americans can get ahead, not just get by.

“Walz and Harris are about opportunity and freedom—the freedom to join a union, the freedom to thrive, to make our own healthcare decisions, to be free from gun violence. They will stand up for the middle class against a weak, dark, dystopian alternative that wants to send us back to the past.

“Gov. Walz is a proud educator who drew on his experience in the classroom to show Minnesotans what a pro-education, pro-labor administration can look like. He is from a small town, served in the military and has consistently given back to his community. He believes the essence of America is to be kind to your neighbor and to help those around you thrive. And he is a former AFT member.

“The contrast is clear: Gov. Walz oversaw billions of dollars in increased funding to Minnesota public schools, provided free school meals to every student and guaranteed unemployment insurance to hourly school workers. Trump and Vance want to destroy educational opportunity, abolish programs that help the least well-off, and pass unaccountable voucher programs.

“Gov. Walz expanded collective bargaining rights, fought wage theft, enacted paid family and medical leave, and took on mandatory captive audience meetings. And he unreservedly supports a woman’s right to make her own reproductive health decisions. The Harris-Walz team will build on the Biden administration’s legacy as the most labor-friendly administration in history and will continue to grow our economy from the bottom up and the middle out.

“The AFT’s 1.8 million members will stand with Walz and Harris over the next 12 weeks as they campaign to realize the promise and potential of America. We will hit the road to defeat Donald Trump and JD Vance from coast to coast and keep their extremist policies out of the White House for good. The future starts here—and we are not going back.”




Alliance Protests Project 2025 Efforts to Slash Medicare Benefits



Holding signs that said “No Project 2025, Keep Medicare Alive” and “Forget Trump-Vance, Give
Seniors a Chance,” Alliance members marked the 59th anniversary of Medicare with a protest
outside the Heritage Foundation Tuesday.

The action drew attention to Project 2025, the policy and personnel blueprint the Heritage
Foundation created for a possible second Donald Trump presidency. The plan was drafted by
dozens of former Trump Administration officials and Trump praised the project on numerous
occasions.

Project 2025 calls for dangerous changes to Medicare. It would force all new enrollees into a
for-profit Medicare plan that limits which doctors they can see. Trump and Project 2025 also want
to repeal the historic law passed by President Biden and Vice President Harris that is lowering
drug prices by capping insulin at $35 a month and capping out of pocket expenses.

In addition, Project 2025 calls for enrolling all new beneficiaries into for-profit Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. The plans often force people with chronic conditions or severe health needs to face challenging pre-authorization requirements and difficulties staying in-network.
“This is the 59th anniversary of Medicare and we want to keep it strong so that there is a 60th and a 61st,” said Alliance Executive Director Richard Fiesta at the event. “We’re here at the Heritage Foundation because Donald Trump’s buddies have a plan to totally privatize the program.”
Pennsylvania Alliance President Mike Crossey, a retired teacher, added, “This election is about
healthcare for retirees. This election is about a secure retirement for every single person who
retires in this country. It’s about protecting Medicare. This election is about the future of our
country.”



Alliance Enthusiastically Endorses Kamala Harris for President





The Alliance For Retired Americans enthusiastically endorsed Kamala Harris to be the next President of the United States.

“Older Americans can trust Kamala Harris,” said President Roach. “She not only respects older
Americans, she has worked to protect our best interests. As President, she will fight to strengthen Social Security and Medicare and increase benefits, continue to lower drug prices and protect retirees’ hard earned pensions.”

Roach noted that as a U.S. Senator, Harris earned a perfect score of 100% in the Alliance’s
Congressional Voting Record. As Vice President, she cast tie-breaking votes that helped millions
of seniors by lowering the price of prescription drugs and protected at least 2 million Americans’
pension benefits.

“The best way to enhance Social Security and Medicare and lower health care costs is to elect
Kamala Harris and a Democratic House and Senate,” President Roach stated. “Our members will
make sure their friends and family are knowledgeable about the unparalleled success of the
Biden-Harris administration.”

Roach concluded, “We will do what seniors are best known for every election season: making
phone calls, knocking on doors and providing accurate information about when and where to vote.
We will work enthusiastically every day to make sure Kamala Harris is the next occupant of the
White House



AFT Delegates Vote to Endorse Kamala Harris for President




The endorsement resolution can be found here: https://www.aft.org/resolution/endorsement-kamala-harris-president . You will find that the resolution provides some very clear contrast between the Biden-Harris accomplishments and Donald Trump and Project 2025.


AFT Delegates Vote to Endorse Kamala Harris for President


HOUSTON—Today, during a special session of the 88th biennial AFT convention, delegates voted overwhelmingly to endorse Kamala Harris as the 2024 Democratic nominee for president of the United States. The endorsement comes after the governing 47-member executive council of the AFT met last night and voted unanimously on a resolution to endorse Harris, pending ratification by convention delegates.



“This afternoon we heard loud and clear from our members across the country—from Ohio to Montana, and New York to California—that they are all in for Kamala Harris,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “The educators, bus drivers, nurses, public employees, higher education workers, correctional officers and doctors of the AFT stand with Kamala. We are fully committed to this fight: united, mobilized and ready to vote in this year’s election.”

The AFT represents 1.7 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.


Randi At AFT Convention



To: AFT Members:

I’m excited to kick off the 2024 AFT National Convention today in Houston, Texas! We’re coming together to celebrate our union’s wins, face the challenges in our communities, and set a path for continued success through the election and beyond.

I’ll be part of the convention kick off this morning so tune in to watch my speech live on Facebook or YouTube.

Our convention’s theme this year is “Real Solutions for a Better Life,” and over the next four days, we’ll explore how teachers, school support professionals, healthcare workers, higher ed faculty and staff, and public employees are working together to build the schools, hospitals and communities where everyone can thrive.

Our speakers, including labor icon Dolores Huerta, AFT Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus, AFT Secretary-Treasurer Fedrick Ingram, and so many inspiring leaders and members from across the country, will be speaking on topics such as academic freedom, democracy, safe-staffing legislation, and so much more.

I know there’s a lot going with the presidential race—President Biden has been a formidable President, and we will honor him at the convention. He is passing the baton. AFT’s Executive Council met yesterday and voted unanimously to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for president, subject to ratification by the delegates to the 2024 AFT convention

We are indeed at an inflection point- progress is possible, but not guaranteed.

I hope you’re able to tune in. Follow along on Facebook and YouTube to catch my speech and many others from this week.

Thank you for everything you do.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President




AFL Anti-Worker Foundation of Trump’s Agenda




The AFL-CIO highlighted the threat Donald Trump’s agenda poses to workers hours before he
took the Republican National Convention stage with a comprehensive new online
guide that digs into the policies of the Trump Project 2025 Agenda that will impact working people, their families, and the future of America’s unions.

That agenda includes:

● Banning unions for public service workers (page 82);

● Firing civil service workers and replacing them with Trump anti-union loyalists (page 80);

● Letting bosses eliminate unions mid-contract (page 603);

● Letting companies stop paying overtime (page 592) and allowing states to opt out of federal
overtime and minimum wage laws (page 605);

● Eliminating child labor protections (page 595);

● Urging Congress to pass Sen. J.D. Vance’s bill to let employers create their own sham
company-run unions (page 599).

The online tool also exposes Project 2025’s plans to gut health and safety protections; attack civil, labor, and consumer rights; eviscerate retirement security; and undermine our ability to hold the wealthy and corporations accountable.

“In his first term as president, Donald Trump was a disaster for workers and our unions, governing
exclusively for the wealthy and well-connected,” said Liz Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO. “The
Trump Project 2025 Agenda lays out his plan to turbocharge his anti-worker policies, eliminate or
control unions, and eviscerate labor laws and workers’ contracts.”



AFL-CIO Responds To Vance Pick




AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler Responds to Trump Vice President Announcement

July 15, 2024

Donald Trump has a miserable record of breaking every promise he’s made to working people—from failing to pay his workers and crossing a picket line to his disastrous four years in the White House. That betrayal would continue if he is re-elected—so it’s no surprise Trump chose a vice president who will be nothing more than a rubber stamp for that anti-worker vision.

Sen. JD Vance likes to play union supporter on the picket line, but his record proves that to be a sham. He has introduced legislation to allow bosses to bypass their workers’ unions with phony corporate-run unions, disparaged striking UAW members while collecting hefty donations from one of the major auto companies, and opposed the landmark Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would end union-busting “right to work” laws and make it easier for workers to form unions and win strong contracts.

If Trump wins, he would once again stack the federal agencies that exist to protect workers with union-busting corporate executives and anti-union extremists, strip funding for workplace health and safety, and do everything in his power to take away workers’ voice on the job—just like he did in his first term. That would mean weaker union contracts, lower pay and fewer benefits, so greedy bosses and his corporate donors could get richer. We can expect that a Vice President Vance would be fully engaged in helping Trump roll back decades of worker gains.

A Trump–Vance White House is a corporate CEO’s dream and a worker’s nightmare. Look no further than the devastating Project 2025 plan that would eviscerate unions and empty workers’ pockets just to boost the profits of their corporate friends and donors. That’s the Trump–Vance agenda. The AFL-CIO will continue educating union voters every single day to ensure the labor movement and working people stop the harmful agenda of these anti-worker politicians from becoming a reality.



From UFT President Michael Mulgrew



Dear UFT Retiree:


Today I'm writing to let you know that I have sent a letter to the chair of the Municipal Labor Committee, Harry Nespoli, to tell him that the UFT cannot continue to support the Medicare Advantage program. The city's losses in the courts and the needless anxiety created among retirees has made it clear to us that our support for this initiative cannot continue. Additionally, as the city has also delayed our current negotiations on in-service and pre-Medicare retiree health care for months, we no longer feel that it is in the interest of our members to be part of that process.

For nine years, we have been able to achieve savings while maintaining high-quality, premium-free health care. But it's become abundantly clear over the past two years that the city is no longer interested in being a partner in this approach. Our process is no longer collaborative; it is now adversarial. This administration has proven to be more interested in cutting their costs than honestly working with us to provide high-quality health care to the workers of this city.

You did not deserve the angst and fear you went through as we worked toward our goal of improving our health care in an increasingly difficult national landscape. I have heard your voices. And as we have all grown increasingly frustrated with this process, we will use our strength in the MLC to push for a new strategy moving forward.

No matter what, we will always do the tough work of fighting for our goal — maintaining our benefits and keeping the high-quality, premium-free health care that all our members deserve — and we will do it together.




Serious Times For Retirees




Alliance’s New “Project 2025” Fact Sheet Illuminates Changes in Social Security and
Medicare if Donald Trump is Elected President


The Heritage Foundation published a 900-page policy blueprint entitled “Mandate for Leadership,
the Conservative Promise, Project 2025,” designed to be the roadmap for a second Trump
Administration if he is elected in November. Heritage, a conservative think tank in Washington,
D.C., developed the plan with several former Trump administration officials and it reflects input
from over 100 conservative organizations.

If implemented, Project 2025 would dramatically reshape the federal government by placing the
entire Executive Branch of the U.S. government under direct presidential control, eliminating the
independence of the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Federal
Communications Commission and all other federal agencies, as well as potentially firing
thousands of federal civil service government employees.

The changes would include dramatic cuts to Social Security and Medicare. The plan would make
Medicare Advantage the default enrollment option for people who are newly eligible for Medicare;
when Medicare Advantage was created, insurance corporations argued that they could deliver
more benefits to consumers at a lower cost to the government, but this has not happened.
“Project 2025 also calls for severe cuts to Social Security, including increasing the full retirement age from 67 to 70,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “This would amount to a cut of nearly 20% in lifetime benefits for all new beneficiaries, many of whom work in physically demanding jobs. It is nearly impossible for many people to work until age 70.”



Support Violence Intervention




To: AFT Members:

From Randi


While deaths and injuries from gun violence are declining, too many children and young people are slaughtered or traumatized by firearm-related violence. Death by firearm remains the leading killer of young people, and the impact on survivors, witnesses and communities is immeasurable. We see it in our emergency rooms, we see it in our classrooms, and we see it in our correctional facilities.

Help break the cycle of gun violence by telling Congress to continue funding community violence intervention programs.

Community violence intervention programs are effective. They were funded in last year’s federal spending bill, but this funding could soon end, as Republicans in Congress are seeking to cut spending in the coming weeks.

Help keep these lifesaving programs going by contacting Congress.

Many of you are worried about discipline in the classroom, violence in the ER and safety going to and from work. You see distraught patients and family members. You see traumatized students and those who have learned from the violence around them that their lives are not valued. Too many of you have been wounded yourselves—mentally or physically—by gun violence.

Let’s tackle these challenges head-on and demand Congress fund community violence intervention programs.

As we work to reduce illegal access to firearms through federal and state legislation, prosecute unscrupulous gun dealers and address the underlying causes of violence, we must also work in our communities to help young people being drawn into the violence by fear and anger.

Help keep our communities safe. Tell Congress to support community violence intervention funding.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President




Lower Insullin Prices in 2024




Lower Insulin Prices, Out-of-Pocket Cost Caps for Medicare Beneficiaries Kick Off 2024

Medicare beneficiaries will see a wide array of cost-saving benefits in the new year. Thanks to the Biden Administration, seniors will continue to pay no more than the monthly cap of $35 for insulin, and vaccines under Part D will be free.

Going forward, if a beneficiary’s drug costs are high enough to reach the catastrophic coverage
phase, they will not have to pay coinsurance or make copayments. This effectively caps out-ofpocket expenses at $3,250 in 2024.

Another major change this year is the Part D Low-Income Subsidy program, Extra Help, which will
now cover more drug costs for those who earn less than 150% of the federal poverty level.

Qualifiers for the program will pay no more than $4.50 for generic drugs and $11.20 for brandname drugs.

These 2024 benefits are only a few of the annually unrolling policies that are aimed at limiting
Medicare costs under the Inflation Reduction Act that President Biden signed in 2022. Last year,
drug companies were forced to participate in price negotiations with Medicare, which will lead to
lower prices, and in 2025, the annual Part D out-of-pocket cap will be lowered to $2,000.

“Beginning with insulin, seniors are finally seeing the affordable prices they deserve for live-saving drugs,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance For Retired Americans.

“These changes in 2024 are important steps toward curbing drug corporation greed.”



Biden Imposes Penalties On Drug Makers



Biden Administration to Impose New Inflation Penalties on Makers of 48 Drugs.

President Joe Biden went to the National Institutes of Health in Maryland Thursday to announce
that dozens of drug corporations will be required to pay rebates to Medicare because they raised
drug prices faster than the rate of inflation. Forty-eight Medicare Part B drugs with price increases above the rate of inflation will be subject to rebates in the first quarter of 2024.

Biden credited the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program, part of the 2022 Inflation
Reduction Act, for the development. The rebates will mean lower costs across the board for the
over 750,000 seniors who take the costly drugs every year, with the crackdown on price gouging
expected to save them between $1 and $2,786 per dose on their medications.

Seniors who take the drugs, which include medications that fight infection and cancer, will now
have lower out-of-pocket costs as well as lower coinsurance payments.

Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, 64 drugs have had prices that rose faster than
the rate of inflation in the last four quarters. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have also lowered coinsurance amounts for all of those drugs.

This latest announcement follows a separate drug price announcement from the White House last
week, when President Biden outlined the use of “march-in” rights to break the patents of
unreasonably priced drugs from companies that received government funds. The Administration’s
aggressive approach towards pharmaceutical price gouging has paid off, with seniors on
Medicare saving as much as $618 per average dose on 47 prescription drugs in 2023.
“Seniors are finally paying lower drug prices after years of drug corporation price gouging and
sky-high corporate profits,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “The Inflation
Reduction Act has been extraordinarily effective at reigning in skyrocketing drug prices in its first year and even more savings will come over the next four years.”

Keep this in mind when going to the Polls.