Academic workers, staff, faculty, and students are the “essential workers” of higher education, whose day-to-day responsibilities maintain the life and further the mission of our colleges and universities. However, institution leaders continue to craft budgets that prioritize marketability and the “campus experience” over meaningful support for academic workers and students. For this reason, we demand inclusive and transparent decision making processes for budget priorities, health and safety policies, and the overall vision for the future of our institutions and higher education more broadly. These changes are necessary for keeping the academy, and the people who make it run, alive.

I stand with AFT Academics members and support the campaign for Community Led Campuses!