Make a Call TODAY to tell our Senators to Support Higher Education!

9/27/2021

Dear FSU colleagues

We are writing to call your attention to an important nation-wide call-in campaign happening THIS WEEK, organized by the new coalition, Higher Ed Labor United (HELU for short).  HELU is a nation-wide group of faculty and other higher ed workers fighting for the common good, and is now endorsed by 90 higher ed worker union locals, including our own FSU and several other Massachusetts higher ed locals, representing close to 500,000 members nationally.  (Check out HELU including the Vision Platform at https://higheredlaborunited.org/ )

HELU's short-term goal is to bring as much pressure as we can to bear on the unfolding congressional Budget Reconciliation process (as well the Higher Ed Reauthorization Act, which is coming soon) to increase funding to public higher ed institutions, expand free public tuition to 2- and 4- year institutions, and to attach to federal funding mandatory labor provisions requiring the expansion of pay equity, just cause rights, and union organizing rights to faculty and other workers on campus, as well as the conversion of existing contingent faculty into secure, tenured, or tenure-like positions. (See details below.)

We are VERY close to winning key labor provisions in the budget reconciliation legislation being finalized by Congress. This is an important moment, and these senators have the power to make some significant advances in higher education for students and for higher ed workers.  Please make a quick call TODAY or THIS WEEK TO OUR MA SENATORS MARKEY AND WARREN.  (Sen. Patty Murray from WA, as the chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee, HELP, needs to hear from all of us!)

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA): (202) 224-2621

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): (202) 224-4543

Senator Edward Markey (D-MA): (202) 224-2742

Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO): (202) 224-5941

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR): (202) 224-3753

Also consider posting the Call-in Campaign graphics attached to this email on Social media and encourage others to call too! 

Feel free to reach out to FSU directly if you'd like to get more involved in HELU--an inspiring group of academic workers across job and faculty categories Budget Reconciliation is just the beginning!

All best,

Joe Ramsey

Senior Lecturer, UMass Boston

co-chair, HELU Collective Action Committee

Senators in WA, OR, MA, and CO have the power to make change - let's push them.