AFT Healthcare's program and policy council (PPC) gathered in Monterey, Calif., earlier this month to discuss its path over the next four years. The council's winter meeting began with the challenges facing AFT Healthcare members, including proposed cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and state children's health insurance, as well as challenges to the labor movement in general. With that in mind, the PPC considered a new vision for the union and the direction it will take. That vision is for AFT Healthcare to become "the recognized leader of a dynamic, unified national healthcare union movement." Going forward, council members agreed to focus on several key areas: internal and external organizing, building political and legislative power, and becoming more vocal about healthcare. Other major goals include aggressively recruiting more organizers and developing a public relations campaign centered on a particular healthcare issue, such as safe staffing. Also, recognizing a pressing need to engage AFT Healthcare members in the state and federal legislative process, the PPC wants training for local members to help them better understand how their state legislatures work. That training should include techniques for lobbying and communicating with elected representatives.