United Campus Workers of Arizona – CWA Local 7065 (UCWAZ) and Community College Workers United (CCWU) represent faculty, staff, and students of University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University, and the Maricopa Community Colleges. We are organizing to resist the continued erosion of federal, public funding for higher education, moves to eliminate the Department of Education, and the increasing precariousness of campus workers. The perilous conditions facing higher education are rapidly worsening under the current federal administration and the unelected billionaires surrounding it. Our institutions face unprecedented challenges including:
- Attacks on academic freedom and free speech
- Funding cuts related to teaching and research
- Renewed threats to job security and wages of campus workers
- Threats to student financial aid and scholarships
- The dismantling of LGBTQ+ and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) protections
- Threats to non-citizens, visa holders, and international students and workers
As we confront the daily onslaughts on higher education and their impacts, UCWAZ and CCWU renew our calls on the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR), and the Presidents and Provosts of University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University, the Maricopa Governing Board, Maricopa Community College District Chancellor, and College Presidents, to defend our campuses and stand up to the current White House administration’s alarming political campaign against higher education.