AFT Partners with Tiffany Aliche for Financial Empowerment Initiative

WASHINGTON—In a strategic move to support its members, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has collaborated with renowned financial educator Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche, a New York Times bestselling author celebrated for her expertise in personal finance. As part of the union's ongoing Fight for Affordability campaign, Aliche will lead a new series of educational videos and contribute to a comprehensive financial empowerment toolkit for AFT members nationwide. This announcement was made at the AFT's 89th biennial convention held in Washington, D.C.

The partnership emerges amidst growing financial stress among AFT members. A recent survey involving over 7,500 members and conducted alongside Protect Borrowers, indicated that nearly 75% are living paycheck to paycheck, with 40% unable to cover all monthly expenses. Rising costs outpacing wages were cited by 59% as the primary hurdle to financial stability, and over half reported a deterioration in their financial condition over the past year.

These challenges are faced by educators, nurses, higher education faculty, and public sector employees, many of whom resort to credit cards for groceries, use "buy now, pay later" options for rent, and rely on food pantries despite full-time employment.

“Our members are up against an economy that has been rigged against them—hospitals that sue their own patients, credit bureaus that destroy workers’ finances with a typo, and payday lenders that make a windfall when borrowers fall behind,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “Tiffany Aliche started out as a preschool teacher, and she knows that working people are struggling because of the cost of living, not the cost of a latte. She tells them the truth, and she gives them a plan. That’s exactly the partner we want in this fight.”

Highlighting her motivation, Aliche stated, “I started teaching financial education because I watched my own community get exploited by predatory systems that were built to take advantage of them. Educators, nurses and public service workers show up every day for everyone else. They deserve more than shame and a budgeting app. They deserve real information, real tools, and a union with the power to go after the companies profiting off their stress. I’m proud to be part of this.”

The initiative will feature a series of brief videos where Aliche addresses prevalent financial issues such as credit reporting, medical debt, credit cards, debt collection, "buy now, pay later" schemes, payday products, and scams. Accompanying these videos is a financial empowerment toolkit, alongside member clinics facilitated by trained local leaders, and a train-the-trainer program enabling local execution of these resources.

Building on the successful model of student debt assistance, the AFT's Fight for Affordability campaign, in partnership with Protect Borrowers, extends its support to encompass a broad spectrum of financial products impacting working families. Resources including the toolkit, clinic schedule, and video series are accessible to members at aft.org/affordability, with new content being released monthly.

Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche

Tiffany Aliche is an esteemed financial educator and author of the bestselling book Get Good with Money. Formerly a preschool teacher, Aliche has educated over a million women globally through her Live Richer Challenge and played a pivotal role in the enactment of New Jersey's mandate for financial education in middle schools.

AFT Membership

The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers, paraprofessionals, and other school-related personnel, higher education faculty and professional staff, federal, state, and local government employees, nurses and healthcare workers, as well as early childhood educators.