WHEREAS:

AFSCME members and working families across the country feel the pressure of rising higher education costs. Due to staggering cuts in government funding, the average annual cost of tuition, student fees and room and board at public four-year colleges has increased by over 32 percent in the past ten years. Total costs increased from an average of $14,797 in 2005 to $19,548 in 2015; and

WHEREAS:

Improving access to college is key to combating record high levels of income inequality and increasing economic opportunities for low and middle-income families. In 1999, the average lifetime earnings of a bachelor’s degree holder were 75 percent more than that earned by high school graduates. Today, the premium on college education has grown to about 84 percent; and

WHEREAS:

More than ever, having a college degree is crucial to entering the workforce. Of the 30 fastest growing occupations, more than half require postsecondary education. Employers are also increasingly seeking college graduates to fill job openings that have previously required lower levels of education; and

WHEREAS:

Student debt is escalating to alarming levels. In the past decade, average student debt at graduation rose by 56 percent, more than twice the rate of inflation. Seven in 10 graduating seniors from public and nonprofit colleges in 2014 had student debt, with an average of $28,950 per borrower; and

WHEREAS:

Student debt disproportionately affects women and low-income and minority families, exacerbating socio-economic inequality. A heavy student debt burden means less money for rent, for health insurance, and fewer resources for children’s education, retirement or a rainy day fund; and

WHEREAS:

In 2015, 11.8 percent of students had defaulted on their student loans within three years of graduation, which has led to millions in garnished wages and social security payments. Some families are driven to bankruptcy and home foreclosure; and

WHEREAS:

A college education should not be a luxury for the few, it should be a right for all; and

WHEREAS:

Some positive steps have been made to make tuition and student loans more affordable, such as Minnesota’s student loan refinancing program and free community college programs in Tennessee and Oregon and the implementation of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) federal program.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will continue to support efforts to make college affordable for all, including the reversal of federal, state and local government reductions in higher education support; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will continue to advocate for the expansion of free community college programs across the country and for greater levels of economic support for public colleges and universities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will continue to educate and connect members and their families with low-cost student debt refinancing and consolidation options, debt forgiveness programs and income-based payment options; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will continue to lobby for the expansion of debt-refinancing programs, debt forgiveness programs and other initiatives on the state and federal level to make student loans more affordable.

SUBMITTED BY: Kathryn Lybarger, President and Delegate

Michael Avant, Executive Vice President and Delegate

AFSCME Local 3299

California