From TJ Acena, HELU Secretary-Treasurer and member of AFSCME Local 328
On August 9th, representatives from Higher Education Labor United will be attending the Democratic Socialists of American biennial convention in Chicago to take part in their first ever Cross-Organizational Political Exchange. HELU, a coalition of local labor unions and labor-related organizations, along with other unions, is among hundreds of other organizations invited to participate and discuss the possibilities of a national campaign coalition built around the needs of working people building towards a national day of action on May Day 2028.
DSA already has a strong presence in higher education amongst students, faculty, and staff. HELU representatives recently met with the National Labor Commission of DSA to discuss greater collaboration in increasing unionization on campuses and connecting building HELU’s wall-to-wall and coast-to-coast membership. Additionally, political candidates across the country affiliated with DSA have been most responsive to our platform and the Emergency Workplace Organization Committee, a joint UE and DSA project, has produced new unions which have become HELU members.
As a big tent organization that works both inside and outside of established political structures DSA creates a lot of connective tissue across the country. The opportunity to participate in this exchange allows us to build relationships with other organizations, connect our struggles, and help us reframe the narrative around public goods as something necessary to fight for.
The crisis of higher education, lack of funding, precarious employment, and rising student debt, is part of a larger crisis in our country. The elimination, privatization, and corporatization of public goods, including education, hurts communities while enriching billionaires.