From Levin Kim, HELU Chair and member of UAW 4121:
What would it look like for the higher ed labor movement to make our collective power visible on May 1st, 2026?
Yesterday, HELU delegates came together for the first General Assembly of 2026. In addition to reviewing and approving reports on HELU activities over the last three months, delegates engaged in discussions looking towards May Day – and the fights that we know are coming up ahead. From on-campus struggles to sector-wide attacks, our power to win lies in our ability to organize across our differences towards a transformative vision for higher ed.
Since our inception in 2021, HELU member unions and delegates have been coming together around a shared vision for “a future where higher education is treated and funded as a social good and universal right” and underscoring the importance of building durable organizing structures at all levels of our higher ed labor movement in order to win this vision.
The attacks on higher ed unfolding right now are coordinated and strategic, taking advantage of the decades of systematic defunding of higher ed in order to push forward a broader authoritarian agenda. In this context, the fights on our campuses that may seem distinct – contract campaigns, program closures, academic freedom, and more – are never truly distinct from each other. As we look towards May Day and beyond, join HELU union locals, delegates, and members across our workgroups and committees to enact a sectoral approach to meeting this moment.