Many AFT members and their families are struggling under a
mountain of student debt, making it difficult for them to make ends meet.
This is an opportunity issue, a funding issue, a living wage issue and a
quality of life issue. College has become the new high school, yet we
fail to fund it as a public good; as a result, student debt has exceeded
$1.5 trillion. That’s why the AFT has taken on the student debt crisis
as a union issue. In fact, a few months ago, 11 of our members filed a
proposed class-action lawsuit, on behalf of all employees who work in
public service, against Navient, a student loan servicer, for purposely
and systematically giving these workers inaccurate information about
their eligibility for income-driven repayment plans and the federal
Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
However, Navient is not the only one to blame. As of the
end of December 2018, 53,749 unique borrowers had submitted 65,500
applications for public
service loan forgiveness, and only 610 applications had been
approved by
the Department of Education. Those who work in public
service are being denied the forgiveness they are entitled to at
alarmingly high rates, and it’s time to put a stop to it. The law that
created this program, by the way, was a bipartisan one—signed by
President George W. Bush and spearheaded by Sens. Hillary Clinton and Ted
Kennedy more than a decade ago.
That’s why the AFT is exploring further legal action on behalf of our
members who have been denied public service loan
forgiveness. Specifically, we are looking
for AFT members whose applications for the Public Service Loan
Forgiveness program have been denied.
Such members must meet the following criteria:
- Made
120 payments on their federal student loans;
- Worked
in a public or private school, for the government, or for a
nonprofit organization for at least 10 years; and
- Applied
for and were denied public service loan forgiveness.
The AFT or our lawyers may then reach out to you to learn
more about your experience. Any information you share will be kept
strictly confidential unless you give your express permission.
Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any
questions.
In unity,
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