News from AFT Higher Ed Archive

The Trump administration has dropped its appeal of a federal court order blocking its effort to force a $1.2 billion settlement on UCLA, a move that would have affected the entire University of California system—leaving in place a ruling that reins in federal overreach into higher education. The decision protects the university from attempts to limit foreign student enrollment, restrict campus free speech and access university personnel data, and it preserves core protections for academic freedom, faculty rights and campus governance. UC-AFT Local 1474 and the AFT, alongside the American Association of University Professors, helped build and lead the 12-union coalition that filed the lawsuit challenging the administration’s actions—securing the court order the administration has now chosen not to appeal.

"This lawsuit represents over 100,000 UC workers who continue to stand together in resistance to the Trump administration’s attacks on higher education. UC-AFT librarians and teaching faculty are proud to have fought with the support of the AFT and AAUP to protect our members’ First Amendment and academic freedom rights in our classrooms and on our campuses. We are disappointed that UC administration did not join us in this legal battle, as we fight for the university we all deserve," said Katie Rodger, president of UC-AFT Local 1474.

Costs keep climbing—housing, utilities, healthcare, child care, college, credit cards and medical bills—and working families are feeling it. That’s why the AFT has launched a new Fight for Affordability campaign to help members navigate debt and push back. We’re rolling out practical tools, including the AFT Debt Navigator (a quick, interactive guide to personalized resources), how-to videos and expert-backed information starting with medical debt, and ongoing live debt clinics where members can get answers to their questions. Check out the full set of resources and share them with your members.  

 

Federal immigration actions are rapidly expanding, with deadly consequences. The killings of poet Renée Nicole Good and nurse Alex Pretti by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis have brought intense focus on the use of excessive force. An AFT webinar, co-hosted by AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang on Jan. 28, featured experts on immigration and the law. It highlighted AFT resources and showcased how our locals are showing up to minimize fear and trauma.

 

 

On this episode of “Union Talk,” AFT President Randi Weingarten unpacks the results of the latest Harvard Youth Poll with Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics polling director John Della Volpe and two Gen Z AFT members who share how the results line up with their own personal experiences. The poll results underscore the instability that young Americans feel about the economy, massive technological changes, our politics and the deep hunger for change and connection. Zachary Coe, a math teacher in Virginia, and Madison Eckhart, a nurse in Alaska, connect these results to their work and lives. The guests discuss the changes young people are seeking to build a better future and ensure they have economic and political agency. Click to listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.  

 

Families are facing rising costs while public education, higher ed, healthcare and public services are being cut. Immigration raids are causing terror in schools, on campuses and in hospitals—places that should be safe for learning, caring and belonging. Educators, health professionals and public employees are being asked to do more with less. Opportunity and affordability matter. We must keep up the pressure. Pressure works: When this administration threatened education spending cuts, a bipartisan Congress stopped them. Our lawsuits stopped the administration from erasing civil rights protections. Our members helped and protected each other when communities were threatened. Now we need to collectively show the nation who we are and what we’re fighting for. Join us March 4  for a nationwide day of action to protect our communities and fight for a better life for all.  

 

Events in Minnesota make clear what’s at stake in America, AFT President Randi Weingarten said in announcing our union’s participation in the next nationwide “No Kings” day of action on March 28. In President Donald Trump, we have "a leader who acts more like an unbridled king, as opposed to a president who abides by a legal and moral responsibility to the people of our country." Americans are fighting back peacefully. "It’s clear that courageous, everyday citizens refuse to be intimidated by our government’s abuse of power," Weingarten said. "We, as Americans, are at an inflection point. That’s why the AFT will take to the streets again. ... It’s time for the federal government to help people forge a better life, not to create fear. We will stand up and protect our schools, our hospitals and our neighbors."

 

The growth of contingent and part-time workers in higher education has affected union governance. AFT locals are structured in many ways: sometimes with all faculty in the same bargaining unit on the same contract, sometimes in the same local with separate contracts, and sometimes in separately organized “sister locals.” Whatever the structure, it is our duty as unionists to make sure the disparate treatment of contingent workers by the employer doesn’t repeat itself within our unions. This new report features a list of examples where affiliates have taken special care to ensure all workers are able to participate fully in the work of the union.