Advertise on podcast: Union Talk

On this episode of Union Talk, AFT President Randi Weingarten shares her speech from the recent AFT convention, in which she lays out a path forward for how AFT members and working people can build our power to create a better future for all. Weingarten details how working people can fight the chaos, corruption and cruelty of the Trump administration by harnessing the power of the people. And she explains how AFT members can get involved in the union's most ambitious election program ever to elect candidates from statehouses to Congress who will act on an agenda to help achieve the America we dream of: An America where everyone has opportunity and economic security. An America where everyone's dignity and freedoms are respected. And an America whose democracy not only endures but finally lives up to its noble ideals.

Live from the National Press Club, this episode of Union Talk features AFT President Randi Weingarten's major speech laying out a new vision for how America can boost teaching and learning in the era of artificial intelligence. Its "devices-down, eyes-up, hands-on" strategy for teaching and learning focused on 10 points that address the wave of technology in our schools, while leaning into strategies that engage kids and set them up for success no matter what the future holds. Weingarten shares how she drew on many of the conversations she's had on the podcast and in schools and communities across the country while developing the agenda.

Working people are being squeezed from every direction and finding it harder and harder to afford the basics. In this episode of Union Talk, AFT President Randi Weingarten talks with two AFT members about how rising costs are affecting them, their families, and the students and families they serve. They unpack the results of a recent survey of more than 7,500 AFT members that found 74 percent report living month to month, paycheck to paycheck. And they discuss both the tools the union is providing members to help them navigate debt and affordability issues, and what the AFT is fighting for at the bargaining table, in Congress and by holding corporations accountable to address the affordability crisis and help working people thrive.

On this episode of Union Talk, AFT President Randi Weingarten unpacks the results of the latest Harvard Youth Poll with Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics polling director John Della Volpe and two Gen Z AFT members who share how the results line up with their own personal experiences. The poll results underscore the instability that young Americans feel about the economy, massive technological changes, our politics, and their deep hunger for change and connection. Zac Coe, a math teacher in Virginia, and Madison Eckhart, a nurse in Alaska, connect these results to their work and lives. The guests discuss the changes young people are seeking to build a better future and ensure they have economic and political agency.

Take a trip to a rural corner of southeast Ohio, where New Lexington schools are unlocking real opportunity for students and offering a blueprint for relevant and engaging public schools that meet the needs of local communities. On this episode of Union Talk, AFT President Randi Weingarten talks with educators and a student about how New Lexington's approach to hands-on learning, career exploration, and student well-being is driving student engagement, providing students real ownership over their futures and breathing new life into a rural community deep in Appalachia.

For months, the Trump administration has illegally blocked people from accessing student debt relief they are entitled to. The AFT took President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon to court for their student loan lawlessness—and won! In this episode of Union Talk, AFT President Randi Weingarten discusses what this court victory means for borrowers, how people can access relief, and the union's continued fight to get people debt relief and make college affordable for all. Weingarten is joined by Protect Borrowers Legal Director Winston Berkman-Breen to review the impact of the case. She is also joined by two AFT members who were caught in the Trump administration's web of confusion and chaos on student debt: Corey Mason, a teacher in Connecticut, who finally got her debt forgiven after fighting for it with her union, and Stephanie Solis, a nurse in Ohio, who is still fighting for the relief she's entitled to.

AFT President Randi Weingarten is joined by three nurses to take us to the frontlines of the Trump and congressional Republican government shutdown. They share how the shutdown and continued attacks on healthcare are impacting them, their patients and their communities. Without action, millions of Americans will lose healthcare, hospitals will close, and premiums will skyrocket. The nurses take us inside their hospitals to talk about the real-life impacts of the decisions by the president and congressional Republicans to shut down the government rather than fix healthcare for Americans.

AFT President Randi Weingarten talks to educators about their aspirations and anxieties as they enter a new school year. This is a back-to-school period like no other, fueled by anxieties over historic federal cuts, raids tearing children and families apart, city occupations, and fears about the future of our country. Weingarten and educators discuss how this is impacting schools and students and how educators continue to show up to teach, support, nurture and help students reach their dreams.

AFT President Randi Weingarten unpacks the dangers for working people in the big, ugly bill being pushed through Congress by President Donald Trump and Republicans. The bill would affect nearly every family in America through horrific cuts to healthcare, education and critical services to fund tax breaks for the rich. Weingarten is joined by Alaska nurse Shannon Davenport, Connecticut nurse Heather Brauth and Virginia educator Laquetta Mackey to discuss how this bill will hurt patients, kids and our communities and what we can do to stop it from becoming law.

AFT President Randi Weingarten sits down with Los Angeles educator and United Teachers Los Angeles member Skye Tooley, as well as student activists Rehman Hassan, Ray Loux and Erica McPheeters for a special live episode of Union Talk during World Pride in Washington, D.C. World Pride comes at a time of growing attacks against LGBTQIA+ people, and this discussion focuses on speaking out, staying engaged, and advancing basic humanity for all across generations. Pride is a time of both activism and celebration, and the panelists discuss how to keep the joy through this ongoing fight for freedoms and rights, as joy itself is an act of spiritual and political resistance.

President Trump has declared war on America's colleges and universities. The administration has launched investigations into dozens of colleges and universities and stripped billions in research grants from schools. The administration is disappearing students who are in the U.S. legally for exercising their First Amendment rights. Three professors and union leaders join AFT President Randi Weingarten to provide a view from the frontlines of Trump's war on knowledge and discuss how we can fight back.

We're talking economics on this episode of Union Talk, but you won't need a Ph.D. to join the conversation. This episode focuses on how the economic policies of President Trump and Elon Musk hurt working and middle-class Americans—many of the same people who voted for Trump hoping he would help reduce costs and help working people achieve a better life. Economic expert Damon Silvers joins to set the baseline for the damage Trump and Musk are doing, and teachers Greg Cruey and Ternesha Burroughs share what their communities in Minnesota and West Virginia are experiencing. The group also discusses the labor movement's role in moving an agenda for broad-based opportunity and ensuring working people and their children have a shot at the American dream.

Direct from the classroom, four teachers join AFT President Randi Weingarten to talk about the devasting impact that President Trump's and Elon Musk's education cuts will have on their students and communities. From ripping away services for special education students and supports for impoverished kids to robbing working-class students of Pell Grants and the chance to go to college, social studies teachers Heather Stambaugh and Rodney Fresh and special education teachers Marsena Toney and Jennifer Graves give a firsthand account of how these cuts will hurt kids. They also discuss ways they are standing up to protect kids and preview actions happening across the country on March 4 to stop these cuts.

5,000 nurses, physicians and other medical professionals are on strike in Oregon, the largest healthcare strike in the state's history. After a day on the strike line, Dr. Lesley Liu and Rebekah Van Dyke, RN, join AFT President Randi Weingarten to share why they're on strike and how they're standing up for their patients, their profession and a fix to a healthcare system that puts profits before patients and caregivers.

AFT President Randi Weingarten sits down with two union members — one who voted for Harris and one who voted for Trump – to discuss not only what the November election meant to them, but how we can all find common ground within our union to fight for workers across America.