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 […]
Attacks on science energize and engage union members Read More »
From Brendan McGovern, Delegate to HELU and President, UUP Binghamton Chapter These are uncertain times for higher education. With aggressive attacks from the Trump administration targeting federal research funding, student aid, and even the very existence of the Department of Education, faculty and students alike are facing unprecedented challenges. Here in upstate New York, United
Resisting Together: Organizing to Defend Higher Education in Upstate New York Read More »
From Evan Bowman, HELU Vice Chair and Delegate from AFSCME Local 328 Oregon Out here in Oregon we have pretty much acknowledged that federal funding for higher education is a non-starter. Chronic underfunding of our public institutions has and continues to degrade the ability to perform our work. Therefore, organizing has begun for an in-person
Forming a coalition in Oregon to raise state funding for higher ed Read More »
From Mia McIver, HELU Chair, UC-AFT Local 1474 Dear HELU Members and Friends, As higher ed workers, many of us are experiencing mounting attacks on our scientific research, humanistic inquiry, and politico-socio-cultural analysis, not to mention our very personhood. The premises of our common educational project–knowledge, expertise, teaching, and learning–are targets of suspicion, while our
January 2025 HELU Chair’s Message Read More »
From Joe Berry, Delegate to HELU from AFT 2121, City College of San Francisco; Member, Outreach Committee The new 2024 Directory of Bargaining Agents and Contracts in Institutions in Higher Education by William A Herbert, Jacob Apkarian, and Joseph van der Naald is an excellent update of the last 2012 comprehensive directory issued by the
The NCSCBHE 2024 Directory: A Boon to Unions, Researchers and Educators Read More »
From Jason Wozniak, Associate Professor at West Chester University, PA, Member of APSCUF, Delegate to HELU from The Debt Collective In 2024, Debt Collective – the nation’s first debtors’ union – became a dues-paying HELU member organization. At Debt Collective we believe that debt is fundamentally a labor issue. When labor is weak and unionization
“Alone our debts are a burden, but together they give us power.” Read More »
From Carolyn Kube MT (ASCP), Vice President for Professionals, United University Professions (UUP) at SUNY, HELU Steering Committee Member and Outreach Committee Vice Chair Just as faculty and staff say, “Our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions,” healthcare workers say, “Our working conditions are our patients living or dying conditions.” Higher Education Labor United (HELU)
Why should healthcare unions join HELU? Read More »
From Jesús Fernández, TUGSA-AFT Local 6290, HELU Steering Committee Member and Outreach Committee Chair During the last weeks of the Fall 2024 semester, the HELU Outreach team met with several members of United Steelworkers Local 1088. USW Local 1088 represents academic and staff workers in colleges and universities around the Pittsburgh area. After the meeting between
United Steelworkers Local 1088 is newest HELU member Read More »
From Mia McIver, HELU Chair, UC-AFT Local 1474 Dear HELU Members and Friends, During our November 2024 General Assembly meeting, HELU delegates from around the country took stock of our current situation. Higher ed staff, student workers, contingent faculty, and tenure-line faculty from public and private institutions, from community colleges, state schools, and research universities,
November 2024 HELU Chair’s Message Read More »
From Katie Rainwater, Cynthia Patterson, Leon Hardy, and Maureen McCormick of United Faculty of Florida. On November 1, 2024, the Tampa Bay Creative Loafing reported some 400 services workers at University of South Florida (USF) would be transferred to the Compass Group, a giant corporate “family” of foodservice and facilities service companies. Under this transfer,
University of South Florida service workers transferred to private company Read More »