Tag: Congress

Why Higher Ed Workers Should Support the HEROES Act

On July 20th, critical business awaits members of the US Senate as they return from a two-week summer recess: the passing of the HEROES Act.  The US House of Representatives passed the $3 trillion Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act on May 15th, and it’s now up to the Senate to decide whether this federal aid will be there to provide relief to state, local, territorial and tribal governments as well as businesses and citizens who have been negatively affected as a consequence of COVID-19.

If the Senate fails to act, essential services will be gutted and hundreds of thousands of educators, healthcare workers and public employees such as firefighters, police, transportation and EMS personnel, teachers and other vital workers who keep us safe will be laid off. The HEROES Act offers comprehensive funding to maintain these jobs. 

Review this summary to see the range of support extended by the Act.  Provisions specifically for Higher Ed have been summarized here, and benefits to Pennsylvania can be found here. 

Join representatives from TAUP and other AFT unions at noon on Wednesday, July 8th,  to deliver a failing report card to Sen. Pat Toomey for his failure to support the HEROES Act.  Social distancing and mask wearing will be observed, and a limited number of people will be attending from each local. If you’d like to be among those attending from TAUP, please RSVP.

What does the HEROES Act Include?

Among the comprehensive and essential funding within the Act, there is:

  • Broad relief for college students.

  • New stimulus checks which will include adult dependents (such as our students) and immigrants.

  • Expanded student loan relief which will include economically distressed borrowers who have either federal or private student loans.  It will also include many who were excluded in the CARES Act because they were not eligible for federal student aid.  This penalized students based on their citizenship status, the currency of their  loan payments and their academic standing.

  • Suspension of payments and interest on student loans in addition to up to $10,000 in student loan forgiveness.

  • Protection for students who are behind in their payments from wage garnishment and other forms of compulsory repayment.

  • Extensive healthcare measures, including the elimination of certain out-of-pocket expenses for COVID-19 treatment and vaccines, and there will be $100 billion in reimbursements to hospitals and eligible healthcare providers for certain expenses and lost revenue to prevent, prepare for and respond to COVID-19.

  • An extension for those eligible for COBRA to maintain their employer-sponsored coverage without paying premiums through January 2021.

  • Expanded federal, state and local COVID-19 testing and tracing.

  • Requirements from OSHA to  establish temporary emergency standards for employers to protect any worker at “occupational risk of exposure” to COVID-19, and the Department of Labor will need to create permanent standards to protect workers from infectious pathogens within two years.

  • A prohibition on t employers from retaliating against employees who report publicizing health and safety hazards.

  • Funding for hazard pay..

  • An extension of COVID-19 Unemployment Compensation: the $600/week FPUC, the PUA program for gig workers, independent contractors and business owners, and the PPP program for small businesses.

  • An extension of housing and food assistance.

Republican leaders in the Senate have stated that they will not vote on the HEROES Act in its current form and would prefer to wait to see if previous stimulus packages improve the economy, and the White House has stated that it would veto the Act.

It is up to us to push our representatives to pass this critical legislation. 

Tell your senator to pass the #HEROESAct at http://go.aft.org/HEROESActLetter.  And let us know if you’d like to attend the report card delivery to Sen. Toomey in Old City!

The Hour is Late and the Stakes Are High:  We Must Oppose GOP Tax Reform!

e-Bulletin20171214

We must do what we can to stop the GOP’s proposed Tax “Reform,” which may include provisions particularly harmful to higher education:  taxing graduate tuition remission as income; prohibiting deductions for student loan interest; and taxing endowments at some schools.  Recent reports indicate that the first two will not be in the bill emerging out of conference, and opposition is mounting toward the third; our efforts and those of our allies are having an effect!  But we cannot rest until we are sure these provisions are not in the bill,  and even without them, the bill would be a disgrace. As TAUP member and economist Don Wargo shows here in his clear-eyed analysis , it is founded on lies or mistakes; it disproportionately benefits the wealthy while doing serious damage to millions among the less-well-off and swelling the deficit; and it sets up draconian cuts to programs that millions of children, adults and senior citizens rely upon.

 So how can we act as Republicans in Congress speed this monstrosity toward a vote?

 Here are three ways:

 1) Work with TAUP leaders who have been calling colleagues living in districts represented by Republicans who may be persuadable—Ryan Costello (6th district), Patrick Meehan (7th—though he looks like an unlikely ally), and Brian Fitzpatrick (8th district).  We are giving these members a way to contact their representatives and urge them to vote “no” and to specifically combat any provisions that threaten higher education.  To help us call members in these districts, contact us at taupaft@gmail.com.    

2) If you live in these districts, call 877-795-7862; you’ll be asked to provide your zip code and will then be connected to your legislator’s office.  If you talk to an aide or leave a message, make sure you mention your address so that they can be sure they know you are a constituent.

3) Attend an action— protest outside a legislator’s office, a townhall, etc.   Go to the American Federation of Teachers’ page, http://allin.rtp.aft.org/.  It provides a wealth of information about what’s wrong with the proposed bills.   Scroll down to find various resources including actions put together by Indivisible, Americans For Tax Fairness, and Not One Penny.

It’s the end of the semester and all of us have tons of exams, essays,final projects or performances to grade.  Many of us are looking longingly toward the Break.  But it is critical that we spare any time we can to raise our collective voice against these wrongheaded, destructive and immoral proposals.  There is too much at stake, and signing online petitions is not enough. It is time to act.

 In Solidarity,

​Steve Newman ​
TAUP President