Speakers include:
Todd Wolfson, President, American Association of University Professors
Diana Vallera, President, Columbia College Faculty Union
Bryan Sacks, Immediate Past President, Rutgers Adjunct Union
Sydney Brahmavar, Secretary, Clark College Association of Higher Educators
Join the Contingency Taskforce (CTF) of Higher Ed Labor United (HELU), Wednesday, July 30, from 6-8pm ET, for an urgent strategy discussion of how we can build campus solidarity among faculty and other higher ed workers, across job ranks, in light of the severe threats we now face. How can we organize broadly to defend the most vulnerable members of our communities? How can we help people overcome isolation and fear, discovering new courage and power by connecting with others? How can we raise up the voices and needs of historically marginalized workers and students within the broader fight to defend higher ed?
Come hear from four recent strike leaders, from “coast to coast” unions representing faculty across ranks (tenure-track, NTT, and adjuncts) as well as staff and grad workers, as they sum up the essential lessons from those campaigns for the struggles ahead. What were the strategies that helped their unions to build strike capacity and take effective collective action? What were the obstacles and difficulties they faced and overcame or learned from the hard way? How did they work to build support and solidarity across prevailing workplace divisions, with diverse job categories as well as students and community members? What are the insights from their local efforts that point the way forward for the nationwide resistance we need today?
As always with our CTF events, the main panel will be followed by open discussion, and then by themed breakout groups, with report-backs and collective synthesis, as we seek to draw out the key lessons and insights that can empower us all for the many fights ahead. Facilitated by Joseph G. Ramsey, chair of HELU’s Contingency Task Force.
