Featured Stories
Weingarten v. McMahon: Major Class Action Lawsuit Launched Against Education Secretary Over Student Loan Crisis
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Teachers issued the following news release:
* * *
Weingarten v. McMahon: Major Class Action Lawsuit Launched Against Education Secretary Over Student Loan Crisis
*
WASHINGTON--A landmark class action lawsuit filed today in federal court documents how Education Secretary Linda McMahon systematically prevented tens of thousands of public service workers from securing millions in student debt relief they are owed under federal law.
The nationwide suit, Weingarten v. McMahon, lays bare the gross mismanagement of the buyback
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Teachers issued the following news release:
* * *
Weingarten v. McMahon: Major Class Action Lawsuit Launched Against Education Secretary Over Student Loan Crisis
*
WASHINGTON--A landmark class action lawsuit filed today in federal court documents how Education Secretary Linda McMahon systematically prevented tens of thousands of public service workers from securing millions in student debt relief they are owed under federal law.
The nationwide suit, Weingarten v. McMahon, lays bare the gross mismanagement of the buybackand other key provisions of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program by McMahon and her Department of Education. Borrowers who have applied for debt relief have had their applications are stuck in limbo, with no updates for months on end.
The case, filed Friday in federal District Court for the District of Columbia, is brought as a class action and is seeking relief for all similarly situated borrowers, not just the named plaintiffs.
"Secretary McMahon has flagrantly ignored her responsibility to help teachers, nurses and first responders under the buyback provision her department is required to honor," said AFT President Randi Weingarten, the lead plaintiff. "This provision was adopted to help people hurt by the first Trump administration's mismanagement of student debt. Instead of processing applications in good faith, McMahon has left 90,000 dedicated public employees in the lurch, forcing them further into debt while their applications just sit there. This lawsuit demands that McMahon stop stalling and do her job--to help, rather than hurt, the people she is sworn to serve."
McMahon has made it her "final mission" to "put herself out of a job" by abolishing the department she runs. She has hobbled its key functions by trying to move them elsewhere, adding to the red tape and bureaucratic dysfunction she claims to want to eliminate.
PSLF is a bipartisan loan forgiveness plan signed into law by President George W. Bush. It enables qualifying public service workers--among them teachers, nurses and first responders--to discharge their student loan balances after 120 monthly repayments.
In recent years, following changes to federal repayment plans and during the COVID-19 pandemic, loan servicers and the department often placed borrowers into forbearance or deferment for several months at a time. Under the buyback provision, borrowers can elect to pay now the amount that they would have paid during those months, have them retroactively credited to their 120-payment total, and then have their remaining debt discharged. This opportunity builds on PSLF account review opportunities negotiated by the AFT as part of a previous legal settlement.
However, by April of this year, the buyback backlog had reached nearly 90,000 applications, from the previous total of 49,000 a year earlier, with the department refusing to give an updated processing timeline. The suit alleges that as a direct result of McMahon's mismanagement, those applications have been shelved, with little or no communication with borrowers about when they might be processed. Because borrowers can only apply for a buyback when they have already worked in public service for 10 years, the department's actions are all that is standing between these borrowers having their outstanding loan balances--often totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars--forgiven through PSLF.
The complaint also details a raft of other PSLF issues, including the department clawing back previously granted PSLF credit: In August, some borrowers saw their PSLF payment counts mysteriously drop, some by 15 months or more. The department initially dismissed the error, then admitted that some earlier waiver and account-adjustment credits were being purposely rolled back. The complaint details how, in addition to the department clawing back PSLF credits, it has withheld, without explanation, recently earned qualifying payments.
"I've dedicated my career to improving the lives of children in my community. I did everything right to earn relief from my student debt," said Elizabeth Schoepflin, a speech-language pathologist, AFT member and co-plaintiff from New York. "Meanwhile, the Department of Education has ripped away the loan forgiveness credit I earned without any explanation. Every month this drags on is another payment I shouldn't have to make. I kept my end of the deal. It's time for the department to keep theirs."
The suit cites repeated violations of the Administrative Procedure Act. Plaintiffs are seeking permanent injunctive relief compelling the department to comply with its statutory obligations under the Higher Education Act to forgive the loans of all borrowers who satisfy the PSLF requirements.
"PSLF is not a handout. It is a commitment to people who dedicate their careers to public service," said David Petley, a co-plaintiff and associate AFT member from Oregon. "As a rural Oregon hospital pharmacist, I have seen firsthand how this program helps bring skilled professional public servants to communities that need them. But now, after 10-plus years of public service, I have waited a year and a half for a response to my PSLF buyback request, with no information about when it will be resolved. I am expected to keep making more expensive monthly payments in the meantime. That is unacceptable. Public servants deserve better."
"The teachers, nurses and public service workers of this country deserve the debt relief Congress promised to them, and the AFT will fight to deliver on that promise," said Protect Borrowers Senior Counsel Laura C. Dismore. "The AFT is, once again, stepping up to hold Linda McMahon accountable in court for her blatant defiance of the law. From President Trump on down, this administration is so focused on destroying what's left of the Department of Education--and blaming borrowers for the consequences--that it has lost sight of its basic obligation to the American people: lower costs and fix the economy. Public service workers and the communities they serve deserve better than more dysfunction and broken promises. The law guarantees public service workers certain rights, and we will enforce those rights wherever and whenever they are violated."
Weingarten is the lead named plaintiff, alongside AFT members and public service workers.
"This is our third case in less than two years against the Trump administration, and the AFT will not stop fighting until every teacher, nurse and public worker gets the loan forgiveness they were promised," she said. "People who dedicate their careers to serving the public should be helped by the federal government; instead, McMahon has waged a war on affordability and retied the Gordian knot we forced Betsy DeVos to unravel. That's why we're suing again."
Today's filing marks the AFT's eighth lawsuit over a decade to protect student loan borrowers from predatory loan servicers and politicians determined to make it harder for young people to pay for college. The case is effectively a successor suit to 2019's Weingarten v. DeVos, settled in October 2021, that gave applicants who had been denied a path to re-review through a PSLF reconsideration process that was ultimately codified by the Biden-era Education Department, leading to over 1 million public workers receiving $78 billion in forgiveness. In AFT v. McMahon, filed in March 2025, the union sued after McMahon blocked access to more affordable repayment plans. In November 2025, the AFT joined the National Council of Nonprofits to restore access to PSLF for work that the administration disagreed with politically.
Weingarten v. McMahon seeks to be certified as a class action to represent the interests of borrowers across the country with pending buyback applications, whose PSLF credits have been clawed back, or whose recent payments are not being counted toward PSLF.
All plaintiffs and the proposed class of borrowers are represented by Protect Borrowers and Berger Montague.
A link to the filing can be found here.
***
Original text here: https://www.aft.org/press-release/weingarten-v-mcmahon-major-class-action-lawsuit-launched-against-education-secretary
UAW Stands Against Divide and Conquer Politics in Michigan Senate Race
DETROIT, Michigan, Oct. 30 [Category: Union] -- The United Automobile Workers posted the following news:
* * *
UAW Stands Against Divide and Conquer Politics in Michigan Senate Race
*
The United Auto Workers stands against the disgusting divide-and-conquer politics being used in the Michigan Senate race against the candidate of the working class, Abdul El-Sayed. When our members endorsed El-Sayed early in this race, it was because of his aspirational vision for what is possible when we come together and fight for all of us.
We are living in a time of the worst wealth inequality in our nation's
... Show Full Article
DETROIT, Michigan, Oct. 30 [Category: Union] -- The United Automobile Workers posted the following news:
* * *
UAW Stands Against Divide and Conquer Politics in Michigan Senate Race
*
The United Auto Workers stands against the disgusting divide-and-conquer politics being used in the Michigan Senate race against the candidate of the working class, Abdul El-Sayed. When our members endorsed El-Sayed early in this race, it was because of his aspirational vision for what is possible when we come together and fight for all of us.
We are living in a time of the worst wealth inequality in our nation'shistory, a time when working-class people are struggling to live. For over 90 years, our union has fought for a united working class that can take on the billionaire class and their corporate lapdogs like Mike Rogers. For over 90 years, billionaires have tried to divide us by race, religion, and more, to keep us weak and fighting amongst ourselves, instead of fighting our common enemies. And for over 90 years, we have rejected division in the name of civil and human rights, solidarity, unity, and common cause across race, religion, and gender.
And in Michigan, we have proved time and time again that it is possible for working people to prevail over their divide and conquer tactics. That is how we birthed the American Dream and created the middle class, and it is what will win the future.
On Tuesday, we are going to prove it again, when we send Abdul El-Sayed to the U.S. Senate and send Mike Rogers back to Florida. This is a "Which Side Are You On?" Moment for all working-class Michiganders. The UAW - Black, Brown, White, Jewish, Christian, Muslim - is on the side of justice and working-class unity, and we are proud to stand with our next Senator, Abdul El-Sayed.
***
Original text here: https://uaw.org/uaw-stands-against-divide-and-conquer-politics-in-michigan-senate-race/
SAG-AFTRA, AFM, WGAW and WGAE File Amicus Brief in OpenAI Copyright Infringement Litigation
LOS ANGELES, California, Oct. 30 -- The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued the following news release:
* * *
SAG-AFTRA, AFM, WGAW and WGAE File Amicus Brief in OpenAI Copyright Infringement Litigation
October 29, 2026
SAG-AFTRA, AFM, WGAW and WGAE have filed an amicus brief in In re OpenAI, Inc. Copyright Infringement Litigation to defend the rights and livelihoods of more than 250,000 entertainment and media workers.
The brief urges the court to uphold the basic principles of copyright law and reject a categorical fair use exemption
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, Oct. 30 -- The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued the following news release:
* * *
SAG-AFTRA, AFM, WGAW and WGAE File Amicus Brief in OpenAI Copyright Infringement Litigation
October 29, 2026
SAG-AFTRA, AFM, WGAW and WGAE have filed an amicus brief in In re OpenAI, Inc. Copyright Infringement Litigation to defend the rights and livelihoods of more than 250,000 entertainment and media workers.
The brief urges the court to uphold the basic principles of copyright law and reject a categorical fair use exemptionfor AI training in accordance with court precedent.
Unauthorized appropriation of human-created works without consent, credit and compensation severely harms creative professionals, devalues their labor and undermines developing licensing markets.
* * *
About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-afm-wgaw-and-wgae-file-amicus-brief-openai-copyright-infringement-litigation
[Category: Union]
SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify TV Animation Contracts
LOS ANGELES, California, Oct. 30 -- The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued the following news release:
* * *
SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify TV Animation Contracts
October 29, 2026
New Deal Means 12.6% in Wage Increases for Those Who Voice Animated Programs for Television
-
In national voting completed today, SAG-AFTRA members ratified the 2026 Television Animation Agreement and the 2026 Basic Cable Animation Agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Members approved the new four-year contracts by a vote of 94.95%
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, Oct. 30 -- The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued the following news release:
* * *
SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify TV Animation Contracts
October 29, 2026
New Deal Means 12.6% in Wage Increases for Those Who Voice Animated Programs for Television
-
In national voting completed today, SAG-AFTRA members ratified the 2026 Television Animation Agreement and the 2026 Basic Cable Animation Agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Members approved the new four-year contracts by a vote of 94.95%to 5.05%.
The contracts, which were negotiated based on member input provided during the wages and working conditions process, provide enhanced protections around the use of artificial intelligence, a 12.6% wage increase over the term of the agreement, residuals gains and increases to the Health Plan and pension and retirement plans.
For a full list of provisions achieved in the contracts, please see the summary (https://www.sagaftra.org/sites/default/files/2026-10/2026%20Summary%20of%20TV%20Animation%20Tentative%20Agreement.pdf).
"As someone who often works in TV animation, my heartfelt thanks goes out to the TV Animation Negotiating Committee and co-chairs Bob Bergen and David Jolliffe for putting in the time and effort to get SAG-AFTRA members a dignified deal with essential AI protections," said SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin.
"SAG-AFTRA members who work in TV Animation are entitled to meaningful protections around AI and wages that reflect the value of their labor," said National Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. "My gratitude goes out to TV Animation Negotiating Committee co-chairs Bob Bergen and David Jolliffe and the rest of the negotiating committee volunteers for their extraordinary and diligent work in ensuring animation performers have a sustainable future, and to Chief Contracts Officer Ray Rodriguez and the negotiating staff for their expertise and dedication."
Votes were submitted online and by mail-in ballot, with the deadline of today, Oct. 29, 2026, at 5 p.m. PDT. The final vote was certified by Integrity Voting Systems, an impartial election service based in Everett, Washington. The agreement becomes effective retroactive to July 1, 2026, and expires June 30, 2030.
* * *
About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-members-ratify-tv-animation-contracts-0
[Category: Union]
November Postal Record
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO National Association of Letter Carriers issued the following news:
* * *
November Postal Record
*
The Postal Record, Vol. 139, No. 10
Cover story
* NALC Veterans Group: Thank you for your service
* James Henry elected NALC president
News and features
* Installation of officers set for Dec. 12
* News from Washington: Supreme Court blocks administration from restricting mail-in ballots; Senate confirms next secretary of labor; NALC files comments on SEC proposed e-delivery regulation
* Family and Medical Leave Act
* Adam and the giant
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO National Association of Letter Carriers issued the following news:
* * *
November Postal Record
*
The Postal Record, Vol. 139, No. 10
Cover story
* NALC Veterans Group: Thank you for your service
* James Henry elected NALC president
News and features
* Installation of officers set for Dec. 12
* News from Washington: Supreme Court blocks administration from restricting mail-in ballots; Senate confirms next secretary of labor; NALC files comments on SEC proposed e-delivery regulation
* Family and Medical Leave Act
* Adam and the giantpumpkin
* Amazon plans for life without Postal Service
* Florida member wins NAACP award
* The war of words
* Volunteer mentality
* Heroic letter carriers
* Positive news about letter carriers and the mail
* Monthly columns by national officers and staff members
To download a pdf of any of the articles click on the list at the bottom of this page.
Flippingbook
FlippingBook allows The Postal Record to look like a real magazine right in your browser, on any device. You can read the issue, cover-to-cover, here.
Download the entire magazine here.
*DISCLAIMER* Please disable your pop-up blocker in Internet Explorer! Google Chrome is the preferred browser for The Postal Record.
***
Original text here: https://www.nalc.org/news/nalc-updates/november-postal-record-2026 (TNSmlt)
National Education Union Comment on Budget Speech
LONDON, England, Oct. 30 -- The National Education Union issued the following news release:
* * *
NEU comment on Budget Speech
28/10/2026
Commenting on the Chancellor's statement to the Commons, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"The Chancellor has failed to acknowledge that investment in our schools and colleges is a necessity, not a choice. Since 2010 schools have had their spending power cut by pound sterling4.5bn. They are at breaking point.
"The impact on children and young people's education is shocking. The list is endless, from the SEND funding
... Show Full Article
LONDON, England, Oct. 30 -- The National Education Union issued the following news release:
* * *
NEU comment on Budget Speech
28/10/2026
Commenting on the Chancellor's statement to the Commons, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"The Chancellor has failed to acknowledge that investment in our schools and colleges is a necessity, not a choice. Since 2010 schools have had their spending power cut by pound sterling4.5bn. They are at breaking point.
"The impact on children and young people's education is shocking. The list is endless, from the SEND fundingcrisis to the dilapidated state of classrooms, cuts to staffing and the courses on offer. Heads, teachers, support staff and parents are sick and tired of having to accommodate successive governments' refusal to fund our education system properly.
"Staff are trying their best to hold things together, but they are swimming against the tide.
"Money can be found. The government must halt plans to claw back the pound sterling3.3bn from reduced employer contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme and keep the money in school budgets.
"The value of teacher pay has already been cut by around a fifth since 2010, while support staff pay has fallen by around 26 percent in real terms over the same period with many facing in-work poverty due to low wages and term-time only contracts.
"Teacher pay cuts drive teacher shortages and therefore damage our education service. Investing in the skills of our children and young people is vital to our economy, so the government must provide the investment needed to properly value, recruit and retain the teachers we need.
"To put their money where their mouth is, the government has now to deliver the additional investment needed for schools. That is the only way to ensure every child has the education they deserve.
"We know that misogyny, sexual harassment and sexual violence have a devastating impact on the lives of too many girls, affecting every aspect of their lives including their education. The additional money to address the issue not just in schools but in wider society is welcome."
* * *
Original text here: https://neu.org.uk/latest/press-releases/neu-comment-budget-speech?_locale=en
[Category: Union]
AFT President Weingarten Celebrates Court Order Blocking Transportation Department's Demand for CDL Drivers' Data
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Teachers issued the following news release:
* * *
AFT President Weingarten Celebrates Court Order Blocking Transportation Department's Demand for CDL Drivers' Data
*
WASHINGTON, DC-- AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following after the United States District Court for Eastern District of Virginia stayed the federal government's demand for the private data of commercial driver's license holders in every state, in State of Illinois et al., Plaintiffs, v. U.S. Department of Transportation.
"No one's private information
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Teachers issued the following news release:
* * *
AFT President Weingarten Celebrates Court Order Blocking Transportation Department's Demand for CDL Drivers' Data
*
WASHINGTON, DC-- AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following after the United States District Court for Eastern District of Virginia stayed the federal government's demand for the private data of commercial driver's license holders in every state, in State of Illinois et al., Plaintiffs, v. U.S. Department of Transportation.
"No one's private informationshould be seized and weaponized as part of this administration's war on hard working immigrants. Our members -- school bus drivers, maintenance drivers, inspectors -- handed over their private information to do their jobs, not to be tracked by the federal government. This ruling is an important step forward to not only protecting the privacy of CDL drivers but a real check on the Trump administration's pattern and practice of illegal overreach.
"An earlier ruling protected drivers in only some states, but because AFT stepped in, the court has now blocked the entire federal data demand, protecting drivers in every state while this case proceeds.
"We know why the administration wants this data: the Department of Homeland Security has twice subpoenaed the same records for immigration enforcement. We implore the administration to focus on fixing our broken immigration system to create pathways to residency and citizenship, rather than using private data to detain and disappear workers who simply want to build a better life for themselves and their families."x
***
Original text here: https://www.aft.org/press-release/aft-president-weingarten-celebrates-court-order-blocking-transportation-departments
