HELU's Wall-to-Wall and Coast-to-Coast Report – April 2025 (Higher Ed Labor United)

 

April 2025 HELU Chair’s Message – May Day Strong From Levin Kim, HELU Chair Over the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, higher ed workers from coast to coast have been fighting back against attacks on critical lifesaving research, on immigrant workers, on education and research in the public interest. We’re in the fight of our lives, for our work, our communities, and our future.  Despite alarming news on the daily—from students and workers removed from our campuses, firings, program closures, government intervention in classroom curriculum, and brazen attacks on academic freedom—we refuse to be immobilised into inaction because we know a better world is possible if we fight for it. We’re standing up for the future of higher ed by building a wall-to-wall, coast-to-coast movement of workers ready to organize, to fight, and to win. Now is the time for coalition-building, for moving your coworkers to take action together, and getting out in the streets. Find and attend a May Day event near you tomorrow, and stay tuned for more ways to take action.    Learn more and find a May 1 event near you Solidarity Asks STRIKE SUPPORT: University of Oregon Student Workers on strike starting April 29 Donate: UR Grad Labor Union Strike and Hardship Fund Salem, OR on May 8 –  HANDS OFF: HIGHER EDUCATION RALLY  Sign: Unite to Defend Arizona Public Education Against Federal Attacks Support a fair contract for Lane Community College faculty Wellesley Organized Academic Workers – Help us win a contract! From the HELU Blog: Visa Revocations at Binghamton University Reflect Broader National Crackdown Over 1,000 international students across more than 170 colleges and universities in at least 40 states have reportedly had their visas revoked. The administration’s actions have often been sudden and lacking clear explanations, leading to confusion and fear within academic communities. As the situation continues to evolve, it is imperative for academic institutions and communities to remain vigilant and supportive of international students, faculty, and staff. The potential for further visa revocations and the broader implications for academic freedom and free speech necessitate a collective response to uphold the values of higher education... Read more.   Delegates: Think about running for HELU officer positions! 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. There has never been a more important time for higher ed activists from all job positions in the higher ed workforce to step up and keep the ball rolling... Read more. Higher Ed Labor in the News As Universities Yield to Trump, Higher Ed Unions Are Fighting Union: Police Raids Targeted Michigan Palestine Activists More Than 150 Campuses Held Day of Action Against Trump’s Attacks on Higher Ed Most Higher Ed Workers Still Paid Less Than Before Pandemic Puerto Rico Protests Against Higher Ed Cuts Follow Long Fight Against Austerity Want to support our work? Make a contribution. We invite you to support HELU's work by making a direct financial contribution. While HELU's main source of income is solidarity pledges from member organizations, these funds from individuals help us to grow capacity as we work to align the higher ed labor movement. Contribute to HELU

Higher ed is under attack: What do we do? Stand up fight back (AFT Higher Education)

Higher education under attack

President Donald Trump has declared war on America’s colleges and universities, demanding they bow to his demands on what they can teach and whom they can admit or hire. Trump’s illegal and autocratic actions are tantamount to a war on knowledge intended to make schools bend the knee to his ideology and chill free speech and academic pursuit. In her latest column, AFT President Randi Weingarten debunks the lie that Trump's punitive behavior toward universities and students has anything to do with fighting antisemitism.

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Science benefits everyone; cuts hurt us all

In early March the Trump administration froze $400 million in federal funding for scientific research at Columbia University, citing antisemitism and referencing pro-Palestinian protests on campus. The AFT has members at Columbia, but the implications are far broader as other institutions are also targeted. The AFT and the American Association of University Professors have filed a lawsuit to stop interference with academic freedom and research. This AFT Voices post features three professors who are affected by the funding cuts. “Trump’s administration has terminated and taken hostage our grants, igniting frictions around issues of free speech and discrimination,” writes one, though academic activism is giving her hope.

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Celebrating new affiliates and contracts in higher ed

The AFT’s higher education affiliates have been generating a flurry of activity: This fast-growing sector of our union has two brand-new affiliates, at Ohio University and Nevada State University, and five affiliates that are celebrating groundbreaking contracts. In a landscape that includes relentless attacks on higher education funding and academic freedom, these gains are especially significant and show the importance and promise of union solidarity. Above, United Faculty of Illinois State University members show their strike authorization ballots, one step on their way to their new contract. Read more here.

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Protesters say, ‘Hands Off!’ and ‘Kill the Cuts’  

On April 5, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets in more than 1,300 “Hands Off!” peaceful protests in cities across all 50 states. The message was clear and thunderous: Enough is enough. Protesters demanded an end to the escalating authoritarianism and attacks on everyday Americans led by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Then on April 8, thousands more—many of them associated with colleges and universities—stood up to say “Kill the Cuts” to education and scientific research. Turnout—including AFT members from coast to coast—signaled a growing, powerful movement ready to defend democracy, civil rights, public education and academic freedom. Above, unionists march in Los Angeles. Photo: AAUP.

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Weingarten breaks it down: New tariffs create chaos

This month, President Donald Trump announced the highest and most wide-ranging tariffs—taxes on goods that Americans buy—since President Herbert Hoover’s Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which made the Great Depression worse. Trump’s tariffs apply to every one of our nation’s trading partners. And the chaos has come quickly: stock markets in freefall, business confidence at the lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis, respected economists warning that a recession is likely, and higher prices for Americans. What explains this seemingly self-destructive attack on our nation’s economy? Read this AFT Voices post by AFT President Randi Weingarten and Damon Silvers for understanding and a way forward.

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Teacher prep program axed despite shortage

Just when the teacher shortage is at its worst, university programs that prepare new teachers to fill the gap have been shuttered by the Trump administration: In February, the Department of Education abruptly axed $600 million in Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator Development grants established by Congress specifically to bolster the teacher workforce. Read this AFT Voices account from faculty members who are feeling the cuts and teachers experiencing staff shortages in their North Florida schools.

What’s Happening & Why: HELU Calls on Academic Workers to Stand Up (Higher Ed Labor United)

 

What’s Happening and Why: HELU Calls on Academic Workers to Stand Up If institutions won’t stand up to the Trump administration, then it’s up to academic workers, students, communities, and citizens to stand up for them. Because we have the strongest levers of power over our local institutions.  While international students have become the first target on campuses, it’s important to remember that a portion of faculty (and in particular contingent faculty who are more precarious), administration, and campus service workers are also vulnerable to ICE. The consequences of these actions could have far-reaching effects. Due process of the law is not for specific groups. We all have it or no one has it.  This absolutely is an attempt to silence dissent in the country, especially on college campuses. This absolutely is authoritarianism. This absolutely is in line with the current attacks on higher education which were laid out in Project 2025. And in line with the crackdown on student protests before Trump took office.  And what’s worse is that many of our institutions are refusing to stand up for students.  Thankfully, unions are already responding. We have to rise to this moment or higher education will never be the same. Read the entire HELU statement Take Action Support a fair contract for Lane Community College faculty Contribute: Justice for Rümeysa Öztürk Support Wellesley Academic Workers on Strike See all HELU Solidarity Asks Want to support our work? Make a contribution. We invite you to support HELU's work by making a direct financial contribution. While HELU's main source of income is solidarity pledges from member organizations, these funds from individuals help us to grow capacity as we work to align the higher ed labor movement.   Contribute to HELU

Wellsley College: Progressive in Theory. Right Wing in Practice.

The ongoing faculty strike at Wellesley College reveals, in stark terms, the reality of the two-tier faculty system that has come to define much of American higher education. Despite its reputation as a progressive liberal arts institution, Wellesley—like many of its peers—relies heavily on contingent faculty to carry out the core educational mission, while systematically denying them the security and respect afforded to their tenured counterparts.

At Wellesley, non-tenure-track (NTT) faculty make up about 30 percent of the teaching staff but are responsible for teaching 40 percent of the college’s classes. These educators are essential to the functioning of the institution, yet they are paid less, enjoy fewer benefits, and live with little to no job security. Only in January 2024 did they formally unionize, and since May, they have been negotiating what would be their first collective bargaining agreement. The protracted nature of these negotiations—and the college administration’s sluggish response—led to the strike, now stretching into its fourth week.

The strike has exposed the deep fissures between NTT and tenure-track faculty. In response to the disruption, the administration asked tenured professors to take on additional students, offer independent studies, or otherwise fill in for their striking colleagues. No additional compensation was offered. Faculty were given less than 48 hours to decide whether to participate. The move created a moral and professional dilemma: Should tenured faculty support their striking colleagues by refusing to cross the picket line, or should they prioritize the needs of students—particularly those whose immigration status or financial aid depended on maintaining full-time academic standing?

In many ways, this is the real function of the two-tier system. It doesn't just allow institutions to save money by underpaying a significant portion of their teaching workforce. It also creates structural divisions that can be exploited in times of labor unrest. The privileged position of tenured faculty makes them natural pressure points for the administration, able to be guilted or coerced into mitigating the effects of a strike without fundamentally changing the system that caused it.

Driving this system are university presidents and senior administrators who increasingly adopt corporate, anti-labor management styles. These leaders often frame themselves as neutral actors mediating between stakeholders, but their actions tell a different story. In their refusal to negotiate in good faith, their last-minute crisis planning, and their strategic deployment of fear—around students’ financial aid, immigration status, and graduation timelines—they reveal a deep alignment with union-busting tactics more often seen in the private sector. These administrative strategies not only weaken labor solidarity, but also erode the educational environment they claim to protect.

What’s happening at Wellesley is not unique. It mirrors a broader pattern across higher education, where elite institutions rely on the labor of contingent faculty while denying them the protections and prestige of tenure. This isn’t a bug in the system—it is the system. The two-tier model is not about flexibility or innovation, as administrators often claim. It’s about control and cost containment, and when challenged, colleges will invoke crisis—whether financial, academic, or humanitarian—to maintain that control.

In this moment, Wellesley’s administration has positioned tenured faculty as potential strikebreakers, students as bargaining chips, and contingent faculty as expendable. The strike, and the response to it, underscores the urgent need to dismantle the exploitative structures that underpin so many American colleges. Until that happens—and until college presidents are held accountable for anti-labor tactics—students and faculty alike will continue to suffer, not only from instability, but from the erosion of trust and shared purpose in the academic community.

Community College of Philadelphia staff schedule strike authorization vote (CBS Philadelphia)

 

Support the Mission of the University of Oregon (United Academics of the University of Oregon)

Tuition has increased faster than inflation. State funding has increased faster than inflation. Administrator salaries have increased faster than inflation. Yet, the administration is demanding that the teachers, librarians, and researchers who drive the university’s educational mission take real wage cuts. 

While everyone acknowledges the financial challenges facing higher education, the UO is receiving more money per student than ever before. If this money isn’t going toward student education and knowledge creation, where is it going?

The Facts:

Quality Education Requires Investment in Faculty

The value of a University of Oregon degree depends on the quality of its professors, instructors, researchers, and librarians. When faculty wages erode due to artificial austerity, neglect, or slow attrition, it affects not only the quality of education and research, but also the long-term value of a UO degree for students and alumni alike.

• UO faculty salaries rank near the bottom among our peer institutions in the American Association of Universities (AAU).
• United Academics has proposed fair wage increases that would merely adjust salaries for inflation and restore them to pre-pandemic budget levels.
• Despite pandemic-related learning loss, the administration is spending less on education per student (adjusted for inflation) than before COVID-19.
• The administration has prioritized administrative growth over academic excellence, while faculty have taken on increased workloads since the pandemic.

Faculty Sacrificed to Protect UO—Now It’s Time for Fair Wages

During the pandemic, faculty agreed to potential pay reductions to help UO weather an uncertain financial future. We made sacrifices to ensure the university could continue to serve students. Now, as we bargain our first post-pandemic contract, the administration refuses to offer wage increases that:

• Cover inflation
• Acknowledge additional faculty labor since the pandemic
• Recognize our unwavering commitment to UO’s educational mission

Our Vision for UO: Excellence in Teaching & Research

The University of Oregon’s mission is clear:

“The University of Oregon is a comprehensive public research university committed to exceptional teaching, discovery, and service. We work at a human scale to generate big ideas. As a community of scholars, we help individuals question critically, think logically, reason effectively, communicate clearly, act creatively, and live ethically.”

Our vision for the University of Oregon is one where the educational and research mission are at the fore; an institution of higher learning where we attract and maintain the best researchers and instructors and provide a world class education for the citizens of Oregon and beyond. Yes, this will take a shift in economic priorities, but only back to those before the pandemic. Our demands are neither extravagant nor frivolous. Our demand is that the fiduciaries of the University of Oregon perform their primary fiduciary duty: support the mission of the University of Oregon.

Why This Matters Now

We are currently in state-mandated mediation, a final step before a potential faculty strike. Striking is a last resort—faculty do not want to disrupt student learning. However, the administration’s arguments for austerity do not align with the university’s financial situation or acknowledge the increased faculty labor and inflated economic reality since the pandemic. If the administration does not relent, we may have no choice but to strike.

We Need Your Support

A strong show of support from the UO community—students, parents, alumni, donors, legislators and citizens of Oregon and beyond—can help pressure the administration to do the right thing. 

Sign our Community Support Letter

HEI Supports Upcoming Boycotts and Strikes

The Higher Education Inquirer (HEI) is in solidarity with nonviolent protests against the Trump administration.  Two upcoming events include a 24-hour boycott of Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy (February 28th) and a 10-day General Strike. We hope enough people join these and other nonviolent protests to make our messages heard loudly enough. To our readers, if you know of any public protests and other nonviolent acts of civil disobedience that we can highlight, please contact us.  

Related links:

Protests Under Trump 2017-2021 (Pressman, et al, 2022)

Timeline of protests against Donald Trump (Wikipedia)

List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States (Wikipedia)

Methods of Student Nonviolent Resistance (2024) 

Democratic Protests on Campus: Modeling the Better World We Seek (Annelise Orleck)

Elite Universities on Lockdown. Protestors Regroup. (2024)

HEI and the Nature of Work

The Higher Education Inquirer (HEI) champions the rights of academic workers and critically examines the changing landscape of work in higher education, connecting it to broader economic trends

Focus on Adjunct Faculty and Labor Conditions:

HEI frequently highlights the precarious working conditions of adjunct faculty (grad assistants, contingent instructors, and researchers) who make up a significant portion of the teaching workforce in higher education, especially in online programs. It draws attention to issues such as low pay, lack of job security, limited benefits, and the increasing reliance on contingent labor in academia. This coverage exposes the exploitation of academic workers and its impact on educational quality.

Connection Between Education and Employment:

The Higher Education Inquirer explores the link between higher education and the job market, questioning whether certain programs adequately prepare students for gainful employment. It raises concerns about "hypercredentialism," where degrees become mere "tickets to be punched" without necessarily leading to meaningful work or sufficient income to repay student loans. HEI investigates the job placement rates of graduates from different types of institutions, particularly for-profit colleges and online programs, and highlights instances where these rates may be misleading or inflated.

Impact of Technology on Work:

 The Higher Education Inquirer examines how technology is changing the nature of work, both within and outside of higher education. It discusses the rise of the "gig economy" and the increasing prevalence of precarious employment in the tech sector and related industries. The publication explores the potential for automation and artificial intelligence to displace human workers, raising concerns about job security and the future of work. This technological shift is often driven by corporate interests, which HEI critically examines. 

Critique of Corporate Influence and Profit-Driven Models:

HEI is critical of the increasing influence of corporations and profit-driven models in higher education and the broader economy. We argue that the pursuit of profit often comes at the expense of workers' rights, job quality, and the overall well-being of individuals. This critique extends to the "tech bro" culture and its emphasis on maximizing profits and technological advancement, often without regard for the social and economic consequences.

Advocacy for Workers and a More Equitable Economy:

The Higher Education Inquirer advocates for fair labor practices, decent wages, and greater economic equality. It supports efforts to organize workers and challenge exploitative practices in various industries, including higher education. The publication promotes a more human-centered approach to work, emphasizing the importance of meaningful employment, job security, and a balance between work and life.

The Higher Education Inquirer provides significant coverage of labor strikes, particularly those within the higher education sector. HEI offers detailed accounts of specific labor strikes, providing context, timelines, and analysis of the issues at stake. For example, they've covered:

The 2022 strike of 48,000 workers (including those represented by the UAW) against the University of California System.

The 2023 Rutgers University strike.

The August 2024 strike by UAW Region 9 workers at Cornell University.

Focus on the Underlying Issues: The Higher Education Inquirer goes beyond simply reporting on the events of a strike. They delve into the root causes, such as: low wages and inadequate benefits for academic workers (including graduate students, adjuncts, and other staff), job insecurity and the increasing reliance on contingent labor, issues related to fair contracts, bargaining in good faith, and protection of union activity, and the impact of university policies and management decisions on workers' rights and well-being.

Highlighting the Voices of Workers:

HEI often includes the perspectives and experiences of the striking workers themselves, giving them a platform to share their stories and explain their reasons for striking. This humanizes the issues and provides a more personal understanding of the impact of labor disputes. 

Connecting Strikes to Broader Trends

The Higher Education Inquirer connects individual strikes to larger trends in higher education and the economy, such as: The increasing corporatization of universities. The rise of precarious employment and the gig economy. The growing gap between executive compensation and worker wages. The impact of austerity measures and budget cuts on public institutions.

Advocacy for Workers' Rights and Collective Action

HEI supports the right of workers to organize and strike for better working conditions. They frame labor strikes as a legitimate and necessary tool for workers to exercise their power and demand fair treatment.

The Higher Education Inquirer views the nature of work as an integral part of the larger discussion about higher education. It recognizes that education is often linked to employment outcomes and that the quality of work available to graduates is a crucial factor in determining the value of a degree. By examining the working conditions of academic staff, the connection between education and employment, and the broader impact of technology and corporate influence on the labor market, the Higher Education Inquirer provides a comprehensive and critical perspective on the nature of work in the 21st century.

HELU's Wall-to-Wall and Coast-to-Coast Report – January 2025

 

January 2025 HELU Chair’s Message This winter and spring, HELU activists are leading workshops in six states to develop platforms, advance coalitions, and share concrete, tested strategies for winning political change. I hope your union will join these opportunities so we can connect with and fortify each other. At a moment when we could go quiet and dark, we must choose to build up and out.... Read more.   Read more from Mia McIver Solidarity Asks Sign Petition to Save The Bridge Peer Counseling Center at Stanford Support LA Educators Displaced by Fires PSU-AAUP Strike Fund Announced Write a letter in support of Tufts Full-Time Lecturers Union From the HELU Blog: Why should healthcare unions join HELU? Profiteers have taken over our hospitals and put patients’ lives on the line. They are forcing the closure of hospitals that do not make a profit. Insurance companies tell us how and when to treat our patients. The corporatization of both academia and healthcare are ruining the quality of education and health respectively for many of our students and patients. 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.”... Read more. United Steelworkers Local 1088 is Newest HELU Member HELU keeps growing thanks to locals like 1088 who agree with our theory of change and also carry it on their workplaces to build a higher education system that works for all. Our strength and coalitional capacity increases thanks to the engagement of members within their locals carrying our strategic vision and program.... Read more.   “Alone our debts are a burden, but together they give us power.” Debt permeates nearly all aspects of today’s neoliberal higher education landscape. Our students accumulate mountains of debt while studying, and faculty labor under unpayable debt burdens which are particularly burdensome for contingent faculty, who often work multiple jobs so they can make student loan payments. The universities we teach and learn in are drowning in billions of dollars of debt owed to Wall Street.... Read more.   The NCSCBHE 2024 Directory: A Boon to Unions, Researchers and Educators 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 National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining for Higher Education and the Professions... Read more. Upcoming Events Defend the University: Lessons from Brazil & Argentina on Resisting Fascist Attacks on Higher Education Wednesday, January 29 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT Universities in the United States are under conservative and neoliberal attack. The Trump administration has promised to intensify the assault on higher education. In this Jubilee School discussion, leading Argentine and Brazilian scholar-activists that have fought to defend their public universities from the Milei and Bolsonaro regimes will share lessons on how to defend higher education against fascist attacks. Register here.   Register for January 29 Coalition for Action in Higher Education: National Day of Action Organizing Call Friday, January 31 at 2pm ET/1pm CT/Noon MT/11am PT On April 17, we will hold a National Day of Action for Higher Education to assert our collective power to organize for higher education and protect the common good. Before April, we’ll be hosting a series of national organizing calls to plan the Day of Action events. Our first call is Friday, January 31, at 2pm ET/1pm CT/Noon MT/11am PT. Register here.   Register for January 31 Winning Healthcare in Minnesota and New Jersey for Contingent Faculty: Lessons from Oregon and California Wednesday, February 12 at 6pm ET/5pm CT/4pm MT/3pm PT On April 17, we will hold a National Day of Action for Higher Education to assert our collective power to organize for higher education and protect the common good. Before April, we’ll be hosting a series of national organizing calls to plan the Day of Action events. Our first call is Friday, January 31, at 2 pm ET/1pm CT/Noon MT/11am PT. Register here.   Register for February 12 Coalition for Action in Higher Education: Antisemitism, False Charges of Antisemitism, and Building Resistance Workshop Thursday, February 20 at 5pm ET/4pm CT/3pm MT/2pm PT Part of building mutual solidarities, resistance, and narratives to fight false accusations of antisemitism is through widespread political education. PARCEO will share its approach and issues it addresses in its curriculum on antisemitism from a framework of collective liberation, as well as challenges that arise. Register here.   Register for February 20 Higher ed labor in the news College athletes were ready to unionize before Trump’s election. What now? – Vox Graduate assistants at Nevada universities call for union recognition amid struggles – KUNR Students, faculty argue Portland State University’s financial sustainability plan does more harm than good – OPB Union: Faculty pay not keeping up with community college enrollment – Daily Hampshire Gazette Unions make waves across Southern California campuses, learning from each other as they go – LAist Virginia higher education workers demand legislative action at Capitol rally – Cavalier Daily Want to support our work? Make a contribution. We invite you to support HELU's work by making a direct financial contribution. While HELU's main source of income is solidarity pledges from member organizations, these funds from individuals help us to grow capacity as we work to align the higher ed labor movement. Contribute to HELU From Helena Worthen and Evan Bowman, Co-Chairs of the HELU Media & Communications Committee.