AFSCME President Lee Saunders called out the administration for trying to change eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and said members of our union will fight it.
PSLF helps many AFSCME members who are struggling with student debt.
The Department of Education proposed a new, politically motivated rule Friday. It would revoke PSLF eligibility from public service workers whose employers are thought to be at odds with the administration’s anti-worker agenda.
The change, Saunders said, is a clear sign that this “billionaire-run administration continues to show how little they care about working families.”
“This absurd rule seeks to use public service workers as collateral in their campaign to punish state and local governments, nonprofit hospitals and community organizations who refuse to be yes men and rubberstamp the administration’s extreme, anti-worker agenda,” he said.
Those who choose careers in public service do so to help their communities, not to get rich, he noted. And PSLF eases their student debt burden in exchange for that sacrifice.
“Gutting the program will push current workers out of public service and prevent the next generation from stepping in — leaving our already overstretched classrooms, hospitals and communities without the qualified workers we all depend on,” Saunders said. “We will fight this rule and keep fighting to ensure that workers are protected against unlawful and baseless political attacks like this.”
PSLF is a federal loan debt relief program. After eligible workers make payments on their direct student loans for 10 years while working for public service employers, the government will forgive the remaining loan balance.
Over 1 million public service workers, including AFSCME members, have had their loans forgiven under PSLF. AFSCME worked hard to fix the program under worker-friendly administrations.