The bold vision of HELU’s Vision Platform will only be realized if we make it happen. We must mobilize higher ed workers — student workers, postdocs, staff, health care workers, and adjunct, contingent, and tenured faculty — to act. We must push our national unions and organizations to use their power to press for these changes. We must educate students, alumni, parents, legislators, and the public about the crisis in higher ed and the need for bold reform. Only by showing up collectively, in bold and creative ways, will we create enough pressure to make real change.
The current budget reconciliation process is an immediate opportunity to get some initial wins in federal policy. We are pressuring Congress to include some of our priorities in the current budget reconciliation process by:
- Including four-year institutions in “free college” (in addition to community colleges) and
- Requiring institutions that receive federal funding to address the higher ed labor crisis by converting to 75% tenure-track faculty positions, redefining tenure so that their current non-tenure-track instructional faculty are first in line for new tenure-track positions, and providing pay parity for non-tenure-track faculty and and living wages for all campus workers.
This fight is an important opportunity to make progress on our long-term goal of a more just higher education system. It is also a chance to educate our co-workers, students, legislators, and the public about the need for transformation and to begin to build our capacity for collective action.
If it makes sense on your campus, we hope you will organize something for the week of September 13. This way, your action is more likely to occur before Congress finalizes budget reconciliation, and it also coordinates with the AAUP’s September 13 National Day of Action for a New Deal for Higher Education. It also coordinates with the Shelter and Solidarity podcast which is devoting its September 16 episode to HELU’s campaign. But don’t stress if that week doesn’t work. Aim to take some action this fall.
We can’t wait to see how you mobilize your colleagues and campus constituencies to participate in HELU’s Fall of Action.
We have created a toolkit to guide you in planning some form of collective action this fall. Whatever your current capacity — already organized and mobilized on your campus or even across your state or brand new to this movement — you’ll find ideas and tools that will help you move our cause forward:
- The Vision Platform and Pledge
- A list of potential actions (though feel free to let your creativity run wild)
- A “How to Organize an Action” cheat sheet
- Legislative talking points and email/phone templates for legislative outreach
- A draft editorial that can be customized to your local situation
- A draft press advisory to share with local press
- HELU visuals to connect your local action to our broader movement
- Guide to introducing HELU to your union/organization
- Links to Shelter and Solidarity podcast HELU edition and recording of Freedom School event from Rutgers unions on HELU.
Feel free to reach out if you need more guidance or have questions. Let us know what you’re doing by filling out this form. When your action is done, please send photos, graphics, and other documentation to us at info@higheredlaborunited.org.