AFT adds new resources to its Fight for Affordability campaign

As millions of working families struggle to keep pace with the rising costs of housing, healthcare, childcare, college and everyday necessities, the AFT is expanding its Fight for Affordability campaign with new tools aimed at helping members reduce debt, build financial security and push for systemic change.

During an AFT convention general session panel discussion on July 17 hosted by AFT President Randi Weingarten; Aissa Canchola Bañez, policy director at Protect Borrowers, and financial educator Tiffany "The Budgetnista" Aliche examined the growing affordability crisis and challenged the stigma surrounding financial hardship.

The conversation came as financial pressures continue to mount for working families. A recent AFT survey of more than 7,500 members-from Alaska to Puerto Rico-found that nearly three-quarters of respondents are living paycheck to paycheck.

Throughout the discussion, panelists explored the tension between personal financial responsibility and an economic system that many say has become increasingly unaffordable.

"I want people to stop feeling shame and to understand that a lot of this is because financial companies, and credit card companies, and medical debt, and all of them are actually exploiting this cost-of-living crisis," Weingarten said, noting that the only way to get the companies to stop is for people to know their rights and by changing laws.

Asked how much of today's financial challenges stem from personal decisions versus systemic barriers, Canchola Bañez said it's critical for people to understand the policies behind many of the hardships they're facing.

"So many of the challenges that people are experiencing today are the results of generations of intentional policies," she said, noting that for generations, we've told our children that if they invest in themselves through education and job training, they would be able to enter the middle class. "But for too many, that promise never paid off."

Recognizing those systemic failures, she said, also empowers people to demand change. "When you acknowledge the systemic failures, you can acknowledge that there are people who've made these laws and made this reality," she said. "You can also push for people to change them."

Canchola Bañez also rejected the idea that record levels of household debt reflect poor personal choices alone.

"We have record numbers of Americans in credit card debt, rising auto loan debt [and] buy now, pay later debt," she said. Why? Because companies are capitalizing on a level of financial desperation unlike anything we've seen, while at the same time earning record profits.

Aliche, a former preschool teacher who transformed her own financial setbacks into a nationally recognized financial education platform, brought the conversation back to the everyday experiences of people trying to make ends meet.

Weingarten asked Aliche to imagine sitting at a kitchen table with an AFT member after a long day teaching or working a hospital shift as they sorted through bills and worried about how to pay them. "What would you say to them?" Weingarten asked.

"I've been there," Aliche replied, recalling the shame she felt after losing her job and facing financial hardship. "What I was feeling was extreme shame," she said. She said overcoming that shame became the first step toward regaining control. "I realized that shame shields solutions," Aliche said. "It makes you feel like you're alone."

Sharing her story with a trusted friend helped lift that burden and allowed her to focus on creating a plan. For AFT members facing similar challenges, Aliche encouraged them to seek support rather than struggle in silence. She suggested you tell someone, "'Here's where I'm struggling,' and … start to write down exactly what's happening with your money."

Canchola Bañez agreed, emphasizing that personal stories also fuel collective action.

"The best way you can take action is by sharing your story and using that to equip the AFT to hold these bad actors accountable," she said.

She pointed to recent legal victories, including litigation that protected Public Service Loan Forgiveness borrowers and another lawsuit challenging efforts to eliminate affordable student loan repayment options for public service workers.

Those victories were only possible because AFT members stepped forward and said, "'This is going to harm me and my family,'" Canchola Bañez said. She noted that taking action as an individual is so important, "and doing it in the collective, that's how we build momentum."

The event concluded with Weingarten announcing two new initiatives to expand the union's Fight for Affordability campaign. The AFT is partnering with Aliche on a series of videos about building a strong financial foundation and with Protect Borrowers on One Big Bill, a campaign to highlight how much student loan payments are increasing because of President Trump's July 2025 One Big Ugly Bill.

[Adrienne Coles/Photo credit: Pamela Wolfe]