Labor Organizations Lay Out Vision for Higher Education

In September, leaders of the AAUP and other national labor organi­zations representing faculty and staff in hundreds of US colleges and universities held a press conference calling on a potential Harris administration to ensure our nation’s democratic future through renewed federal invest­ment in public higher education. The press conference coincided with the release of a “Statement of Unity for the Future of Higher Ed” signed by leaders of the AAUP, AFSCME, the AFT, CWA, HELU, NEA, OPEIU, SEIU, the UAW, UE, and Unite Here.

The Labor for Higher Education coalition recognizes American higher education as a public good and a bedrock of our democracy. However, the current crisis in higher education of declining public fund­ing, ballooning student debt, and widespread job insecurity threatens that promise and jeopardizes learn­ing and working conditions for millions of Americans.

Colleges and universities should propel opportunity for the work­ing class—for students, workers, and communities. This is why the Labor for Higher Education coalition is calling for full federal funding of public higher education, expanded access, an end to the student debt crisis, and sustainable working conditions for the four million higher education work­ers that form the backbone of communities in every state in the country. Workers in US commu­nity colleges, technical schools, state colleges, and research uni­versities maintain campuses, feed students, teach courses, under­take research, care for patients, and collectively make American higher education the envy of the world.