HELU Blog

A conversation with Toby Miller, Chris Robé, Jordan Scott, Nicole Erin Morse, Robin Goodman, and Katie Rainwater. Edited by Mike Budd and Helena Worthen The U.S. right wing, now in power at the federal level and in many states, tries to overwhelm opposition, taking over even our most basic democratic institutions.  Higher education is a […]

Update: Applications for this position will close at the end of day on May 13, 2025. Position Summary The Part-Time Operations Coordinator would work 10-20 hours per week to maintain HELU’s internal infrastructure. This may include work on HELU’s database (Hubspot & Airtable), social media, invoicing, keeping financial records, travel and event logistics, and potentially

By Helena Worthen The current HELU Steering Committee was elected at our founding convention in May 2024. HELU will be conducting elections for new leadership in at the quarterly General Assembly in November 2025. They will serve from January 2026 to January 2028. We are alerting HELU delegates to this schedule because we know that

By Brendan McGovern, United University Professions–Binghamton Chapter President At least five international students at Binghamton University have had their visas revoked, as confirmed by the university and reported by the student newspaper, Pipe Dream. These students are among 21 across the SUNY system who have experienced changes to their visa status as of April 9.

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

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

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

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

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