Background
Unfortunately, so far in the Trump era, many of our universities have failed to live up to their progressive and democratic potential as a sanctuary against Trumpism. At Columbia, instead of respecting an overwhelming 72% vote by RAs and TAs for unionization nearly one year ago, President Bollinger has delayed bargaining in the hopes that Trump’s appointees to the National Labor Relations Board will take away their union rights. At Boston College, RAs and TAs from every department voted in favor of forming a union, BCGEU-UAW, in a fair and democratic election yet BC’s administration continues to attempt to nullify their democratic choice. This assault against democracy is rippling across our campuses, denying academic workers their right to organize and their right to improve their working conditions. Academic worker unions provide real recourse against sexual harassment and assault on campus, yet this progress being stalled or denied by university administrations. Enough is enough.
As we mark the one year anniversary of Donald Trump’s election, academic workers are coming together to resist and persist through Trumpism’s threats to the values of our universities. We are calling on our administrations who outwardly denounce Trump to do better and live up to the progressive potential of our great universities, telling them:
