- The Debt Collective is launching a student-debt strike when payments resume on May 1.
- This doesn't mean defaulting on debt. The group offers five ways to get to $0 monthly payments.
- They say it's all about pushing the envelope on student-debt cancellation.
The nation's first debtor's union has an option for 43 million federal student-loan borrowers facing payments in under two months: a student-debt strike.
On Friday, the Debt Collective launched an initiative to help borrowers get to $0 monthly payments when the payment pause expires on May 1. The organization made clear that this student debt strike is not encouraging people to default on their loans, which can result from missed payments and lead to severe financial consequences, but rather, the strike is centered on helping borrowers get to $0 monthly payments "as safely as possible."
"I want to emphasize that not everyone can strike, and that's okay," Braxton Brewington, spokesperson for the Debt Collective, told Insider. "A strike is people politicizing that they're unwilling and unable to pay, and it's really something that pushes the envelope and aids the conversation of student-debt cancellation."
Student-loan payments have been on pause since the start of the pandemic, but with Biden planning to restart those payments on May 1, many borrowers have worried about their ability to foot another monthly bill while COVID-19 is still ongoing. As the $1.7 trillion student debt crisis continues to grow, some Democratic lawmakers have been urging the president to fulfill his campaign pledge to cancel student debt broadly, but he has yet to do so and has been largely silent on when, or if, broad loan relief is coming.
That's why a strike is necessary, Brewington said. "It's a way to stick it to Joe Biden and say, 'If you're going to turn payments on, we're going to try to find as many people as we can who can pay $0 a month so they can enjoy their lives in the way that hopefully they are right now.'"
But, as he noted, "the best way to pay $0 a month is to have all your debt canceled."
How to become a student debt striker
According to the Debt Collective, a student debt striker is anyone who is paying $0 a month "for a combination of economic and political reasons — because they can't pay and know they shouldn't have to pay" and who is committed to fighting for broad student-loan relief.
If a borrower fits that mold, they can fill out the organization's form to indicate which of these five options would best help them reach $0 payments:
- Applying for "borrower defense to repayment," a type of loan forgiveness granted to borrowers defrauded by for-profit schools
- Applying for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which forgives student debt for public servants after ten years of qualifying payments
- Using an income-driven repayment plan, which calculates monthly payments based on income, to help get monthly payments close to $0
- Using the Education Department's safety net, which is a 90 day grace period that allows missed payments to go unreported on credit scores
- Or staying in school, during which federal loans should be in an in-school deferment period.
Brewington also noted that borrowers currently in default are already on strike because they are unable to make payments on their debt.
Political momentum for student-debt cancellation continues to grow
Striking on student debt isn't about draining money from the Department of Education, Brewington said — it's an "overtly political" action.
As Insider has previously reported, left-leaning economists have said the economy has been doing just fine without student-loan payments made to the federal government during the pandemic. They say that will continue if the payment pause keeps getting extended, or if student debt is canceled altogether.
"In a student debt strike, the main target is the federal government," the Debt Collective said. "The federal government is a unique target because we don't actually hurt the government financially when we don't pay our federal student loans." That's because the government has already issued the debt and has continued to function without the payments.
While lawmakers advocating for broad student-loan relief, like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have not explicitly come out in support of a debt strike, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib has, signaling the potential for further lawmakers supporting $0 payments come May 1.
"The road to student debt cancellation is long and hard, and a key aspect is building solidarity amongst students and graduates with debt," Tlaib told the Debt Collective, adding "we need to resist and abolish student debt, and there are so many ways to support it without putting yourself in financial jeopardy. I stand with Student Debt Strikers and encourage everyone – whether you have debt or not – to join us."