Organizing wall-to-wall for a just system of higher education

Higher education is under assault. We need to organize and fight back. We need to unite all faculty for a higher education system that serves the common good. We need to focus on building labor power and solidarity, uniting faculty of all ranks and building coalitions with our other campus (non-faculty) colleagues, and expanding political power through coalitions with allied student, climate, and social justice organizations at the local and national levels, among others.

We take inspiration from other grassroots and rank-in-file labor organizations—foremost Higher Education Labor United (HELU), but also those in K-12 education and other sectors, such as Caucus of Rank-in-File Educators (CORE), Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD), and Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU)—that are focused on transforming their unions, local and national communities, and the broader political landscape through organizing and direct political action. Issuing declarations and reports will not save higher education. Only a commitment to organizing all faculty and building coalitions for the common good will enable us to create the system of higher education that we need.