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- AFT Plus booklet
- AFT Plus — Assistance for Job Interruption
- New Benefit — Trauma Coverage for AFT members
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Category Archives: AFT
Members: let’s share our resources to thrive!
In these uncertain times, let’s share our resources to thrive!
As we all continue to adapt to the changing times, I hope you and your families are well. Our union has been working hard to advocate for the health and safety for all and want to share some additional resources that will help with some of the changes in our lives.
In these uncertain times, with all the changes at Rutgers, we are adjusting to working from home, trying to keep focus as pandemic news continually updates, keeping ourselves and our families healthy, and the myriad of other things that impact each of us. It is more important than ever to keep communicating and sharing our resources to support each other.
We have created a Google Doc where we can share our best practices and success stories as we all develop different ways to cope to our new reality. I encourage you all to take a minute and add to the Google Doc and share tips that you have developed to help as many are working from home. I look forward to learning from all of you as you share your experiences and frustrations. We can learn from each other’s successes and share the knowledge on how we make Rutgers work every day.
URA members Best practices for thriving during COVID-19 pandemic (link to Google Doc provided to members only).
URA-AFT owns and maintains this Google account and reserves the right to edit any comments that may be offensive, vulgar or abusive or restrict access as necessary.
Please continue to take action.
In addition, I have compiled a brief list of resources that may help with some aspects of your telecommuting life. If you have others, please share on the Google Doc above. Please comment if any of the suggested information is found to be inaccurate or outdated.
Keep yourself healthy
- AFT members new counseling benefit
- GSAAP mental health support
- Relaxation techniques
- How to sleep better
- Rutgers self guided mediation techniques
- Expansion to SHBP to include telemedine, free COVID test
Tips for telecommuting
Childcare for essential workers
Stay active inside
COVID-19 updates
If your family member or friends have lost their jobs
Housing and other help
- Mortgage and rent relief
- Spectrum free internet
- Comcast free internet
- Verizon customers get free upgrades
- NJTV offers student learning live broadasts
- Relief for Federal student loans for students and parents
- Suspension of power shutoffs
- Suspension of water shutoffs
Food
Many food stores are delivering to home but appointments are limited
- ShopRite from home
- Peapod from Stop and Shop
- Ruby Tuesdays is offering limited grocery items through Ruby’s Pantry
Don’t forget, please share your best practices and success stories with all of us through this Google Doc: URA members Best practices for thriving during COVID-19 pandemic.
Stay safe and well.
In solidarity,
Christine O’Connell, President
The Student Debt Crisis
More than 45 million student loan borrowers owe student debt, a result of decades of disinvestment in public higher education that has shifted costs onto students and their families while leaving colleges and universities underfunded.
Collectively, student debt is over $1.5 trillion, and this debt surpasses all types of household debt other than mortgages. Unlike holders of other types of consumer debt, who have experienced lower levels of delinquency and default since the Great Recession, student loan borrowers remain in distress.
Nearly 1 in 4 federal borrowers are in default or struggling to stay current on their loans, and additionally tackling debt collecting companies like bristow & sutor. When they fall behind on their payments, the consequences are dire: negative credit reports, wage garnishment and diminished options to cure defaulted loans.
Consumer credit reports—which are the keys to employment, housing and access to credit, and consequently to economic stability itself—are tarnished. This is why the AFT has launched a student debt clinic program to help our members. But we know that helping each other manage student debt is not enough; we need to join together and fight to change the terms of the debate about student debt.
Student Debt Survey
AFT is currently surveying our members about their experiences with student debt. If you’ve gotten a text message like this one, that’s from us! To share your experience, take our survey (link is external).