Organize Every Campus Campaign

The AAUP and the AFT continue to organize thousands of workers into new chapters and locals every year. This work is bringing added power and voice, through collective bargaining, to faculty members and other academic workers. While recent collective bargaining organizing has exceeded expectations, the AAUP’s new leadership also recognizes the need to build power among existing advocacy and collective bargaining chapters.

To that end, the AAUP has partnered with the University of California, Berkeley, Labor Center and Bargaining for the Common Good to provide Skills to Win trainings at no cost to AAUP and AFT members. The trainings, based on methods developed by the late labor activist and organizer Jane McAlevey, cover fundamentals such as identifying organic leaders, learning how to map out who works where on campus, and holding successful organizing conversations. The first training took place over Zoom on a Saturday and Sunday in November, for an intense six hours each day. A total of 230 AAUP and AFT members participated in both days of the training, with nearly 100 percent retention over both days. More than seventy chapters sent leaders and activists to the first Skills to Win training.

The feedback from the members who participated has been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, participants have remained in contact with one another, debriefing with others from their training cohort after using their newfound skills and confidence in talking to colleagues. The AAUP will continue to support the work of this cohort by keeping activist members connected through regional meetings, meetings of the entire cohort, and regular conversations with AAUP staff. The Skills to Win trainings are part of the AAUP’s new Organize Every Campus campaign, which is proving critical to efforts to advance higher education, defend the freedom to teach and learn, and ensure that faculty, students, and academic staff support one another.

The next Skills to Win training begins on February 10. Invite your colleagues and register now to take this initial step toward strengthening your chapter.