HELU Articles
Student Workers and Student Rights: The Argument for Workers’ Rights Education in Public High Schools
From Maya Cruz, a member of SEIU 925, staff at the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies The Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, housed at the University of Washington, connects students, staff, and faculty to the study of labor through education, research, and relationships with working communities and the broader labor movement. Our latest…
“For Union Democracy: Prioritize the Precarious”
From Joe Ramsey (Chair, HELU Contingency Task Force; Delegate from FSU/MTA and HELU Steering Committee) Our March 16 zoom event embodied HELU’s coast-to-coast and wall-to-wall aspirations, with speakers from across the country representing higher educators across ranks, from tenured and tenure-track faculty to graduate students, adjunct and full-time contingent faculty. Seventy event participants hailed from…
Solidarity and Democracy: The problem of contingency
From Anne Balay, Delegate to HELU from the National Writers Union and staff with SEIU 509 On March 16th, HELU’s Contingency Task Force (CTF) hosted a zoom conversation about union democracy. I was one of four panelists discussing the tension between growing our movement by uniting across differences in power and pay and ensuring that…
Campus Labor Coalition at Penn organizes rallies
From Emily Steinlight, Delegate to HELU from AAUP/Penn and member HELU Steering Committee On Thursday, March 20th, members of the six unions and labor organizations in the Penn campus Coalition of Workers at Penn rallied to present a joint petition against Penn’s anticipatory compliance with executive orders that threaten us all. Members of AAUP-Penn, GETUP-UAW, CIR-SEIU, Penn Libraries United…
Attacks on science energize and engage union members
From Rebecca Givan, HELU Delegate from Rutgers AAUP/AFT LOCAL 6323 and member of HELU Steering Committee At Rutgers, we’re seeing (unsurprisingly) a massive upsurge in engagement from our member in the STEM fields (especially our faculty). When federal science funding has been threatened, for example through the cap on indirect costs, and the slashing of…
Resisting Together: Organizing to Defend Higher Education in Upstate New York
From Brendan McGovern, Delegate to HELU and President, UUP Binghamton Chapter These are uncertain times for higher education. With aggressive attacks from the Trump administration targeting federal research funding, student aid, and even the very existence of the Department of Education, faculty and students alike are facing unprecedented challenges. Here in upstate New York, United…