From our colleagues at the Graduate Employees Organization at University of Illinois Chicago (UIC-GEO): UIC-GEO has been bargaining with the university administration for a new contract since April 28th, 2025 – nearly an entire year. They have been working without a new contract since August of 2025. Throughout this process the university administration has made […]
Solidarity with UIC-GEO grad workers on strike Read More »
Higher ed labor is organizing. Learn more and join us. April 2026 HELU Chair’s Message From Levin Kim, HELU Chair and member of UAW 4121: This May Day, thousands of higher ed workers, students, alumni, and community members from coast to coast are taking to the streets. Will you be a part of the
HELU’s Wall-to-Wall & Coast-to-Coast Report: April 2026 Read More »
by Jenna Chernega, HELU Vice Chair and Chair of the HELU Politics & Policy Committee The Politics and Policy (P&P) committee is fairly large. I would guess that there are well over 20 people on the google groups list. Basically, we let anyone in who expresses interest in joining the committee, either when they join HELU
How the Politics and Policy Committee Works Read More »
by Helena Worthen, based on an interview with Thomas Gokey, Organizer for Debt Collective, a HELU member labor organization, and active with the HELU Policyand Politics Committee HELU’s basic idea of centering the hoped-for transformation of the higher ed sector around labor means confronting opposition on multiple levels. One level is obviously collective bargaining, where
Current Politics and Policy Committee Projects Read More »
From our colleagues at 32BJ-SEIU: Tufts workers are asking folks to write a letter to university leadership in support of an excellent union contract for facilities staff represented by SEIU 32BJ. Their core demands are: The labor performed by SEIU 32BJ is essential to keeping Tufts running and its academic output cutting-edge. These union members
Support Union Workers at Tufts University! Read More »
From our colleagues at AAUP Smith: Hampshire College is closing, and hundreds of staff and faculty are facing sudden job loss without severance. A group of Hampshire staff and faculty have launched an Emergency Relief Fund, providing direct financial assistance for immediate needs such as housing, food, healthcare, and other essential expenses. Funds raised here
Support Hampshire College Staff and Faculty Read More »
From Levin Kim, HELU Chair and member of UAW 4121: This May Day, thousands of higher ed workers, students, alumni, and community members from coast to coast are taking to the streets. Will you be a part of the growing movement? Learn more and register for a May Day action near you. Additionally, hear from
April 2026 HELU Chair’s Message Read More »
By Carolyn Kube, Chair of HELU Outreach Committee, Steering Committee member for Healthcare Workers and Delegate from UUP. HELU organizes local unions and labor organizations, not individual people, although individuals can join. This makes HELU organizing different from organizing people into a local union. The idea behind HELU is that by drawing the local unions
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By Ian Gavigan, HELU Executive Director. HELU’s vision of higher ed organized wall-to-wall and coast-to-coast rests upon the idea that union locals are the starting point for an organizing strategy that builds power at the sectoral level in order to wage a national fight against our broken system of higher ed finance and governance. On
How does regional organizing fit with HELU’s wall-to-wall and coast-to-coast project? Read More »
by Brendan McGovern, UUP Binghamton Chapter President. May Day, observed each year on May 1, is one of the most important days in the global labor movement. Its origins trace back to the struggle for the eight-hour workday in the late 19th century, when hundreds of thousands of workers across the United States went on
May Day: A Labor Tradition and a Call to Action for Higher Education Workers Read More »