HELU Articles
How the Politics and Policy Committee Works
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…
Current Politics and Policy Committee Projects
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…
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 growing movement? Learn more and register for a May Day action near you. Additionally, hear from…
How HELU Organizes
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…
How does regional organizing fit with HELU’s wall-to-wall and coast-to-coast project?
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…
May Day: A Labor Tradition and a Call to Action for Higher Education Workers
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…