politics – Page 4 – Cornell Chapter of the AAUP

Day of action: Mobilizing to defend education on March 4

https://www.aft.org/ProtectOurKids

The AAUP is supporting the American Federation of Teachers’ mobilization to defend education

The Trump administration wants to make painful cuts to education and healthcare in order to slash taxes for billionaires. The administration’s plan to “block grant” federal education programs and gut the U.S. Department of Education would rob 26 million students living in poverty of critical services and 7.5 million students with disabilities of special education support. It would eliminate career and technical education for 12 million students, threatening their future job opportunities. Slashing Medicaid and student loans could strip healthcare coverage from 10.3 million people and end access to student loans, making college unaffordable for another 10 million working-class families.

Join us on March 4 and stand up to protect our kids!

On Tuesday, March 4, educators, students, parents and community allies will stand up against assaults on public education and on opportunity for America’s youth. We are calling on lawmakers to strengthen, not undermine, our local public schools and the services they provide to children, families and communities.

By highlighting the harmful consequences of these attacks on public schools and students, we aim to build public pressure on policymakers and amplify the voices of those directly impacted.

We must:

Pressure decision-makers: Urge elected officials at both the federal and state levels to oppose cuts to federal funding and block grants, both of which will hurt kids.
Raise awareness: Educate the public about the devastating consequences of dismantling the Department of Education, gutting federal education funding and providing no-strings-attached block grants.
Mobilize support: Engage a broad coalition of stakeholders—including educators, students, parents and community members—to participate in actions nationwide.
Drive media coverage: Generate media attention through storytelling, coordinated events, rallies, etc.
Lift up our stories: Highlight how these cuts disproportionately harm vulnerable students, including those from underserved communities and students with disabilities.
Take action in our communities: Wage this fight in the communities where students will lose services they rely on, not just in Washington, D.C.

Day of Action activities can include:

Local and national events: Organize rallies, marches and teach-ins in key cities and communities on March 4. Partner with local organizations to host panels or town halls focused on the impact of federal education funding cuts.
Advocacy and lobbying: Organize call-in days and email campaigns targeting legislators to urge them to oppose the Trump agenda that will hurt our public schools and communities. Provide participants with scripts and talking points for contacting their representatives.
Story collection and amplification: Collect and share real-life stories from educators, students and parents showcasing the tangible harm cuts to services and supports they rely on will cause. Use videos, blogs and social media to amplify their voices.
Media outreach: Conduct interviews with local media outlets and adapt a sample press release and op-ed featuring impacted individuals.
Digital mobilization: Launch a robust social media campaign with shareable graphics, infographics and videos using the hashtag #ProtectOurKids to drive engagement and awareness.

Resources from the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom – AAUP

The director for the AAUP Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, Isaac Kamola, is sharing resources for the fight:

The cruelty of the new administration’s attack on democracy and higher education has been staggering, from arbitrary cuts to research funding to the malicious misrepresentation of our work to Linda McMahon’s unwillingness to say that teaching African American history is still legal.

Fighting back requires understanding the threats we face as well as developing the tools necessary to convey the value of higher education to a wide audience. In this context, the AAUP’s Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom has recently published a number of resources that we hope will be useful in the fight ahead:

Academic Freedom on the Line is a weekly Substack edited by CDAF fellow John Warner. This newsletter examines questions around academic freedom, its role in a democratic society, and what is lost when academic communities face politicized attacks on institutional autonomy and shared governance. Check out posts on CDAF’s mission, the risks of obeying in advance, advice for college and university boards, and reflections on the recent “Dear Colleague” letter.
Executive Power Watch is a series of short handouts that offer analyses of education-related executive actions, including executive orders that target diversity, equity, and inclusion; weaponize antisemitism; and target transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people. These resources offer concrete suggestions about what you can do to fight back.
Action Reports are short studies that offer concrete analysis and guidance on how to respond to particular threats to academic freedom, such as

Future Action Reports will examine the American Council of Trustees and Alumni and strategies for using collective bargaining agreements to resist post-tenure review laws.

AAUP Chapter Statement on Bargaining between Cornell administration and UAW Local 2300

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August 14, 2024

The Cornell University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors stands in solidarity with UAW Local 2300 and its fight to improve wages and working conditions for essential University workers. Our AAUP chapter, the union for tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty, adjuncts, librarians, postdocs, and academic staff, urges the administration to agree to a fair contract in line with the workers’ demands. These include a pay increase to fairly compensate Cornell employees for their work, which is essential to running the University; bring wages in line with the cost of living; annual cost of living adjustments so that wage increases do not fall behind the cost of living; and greater allowances for parking and clothing to reduce costs and risks borne by the workers themselves.

Over the last several years, working conditions at Cornell have declined considerably, in line with the University’s broader failure to adequately compensate workers and to pay a fair share to the surrounding communities. Like any corporation, the University’s value is produced by its workers, and its operations generate burdens and costs for the community. For years now, University leadership has shifted costs onto workers through inadequate wages and benefits, just as it has chosen to shift costs onto Ithaca and neighboring communities by refusing to pay its fair share for public services.

Cornell creates employment opportunities in Ithaca and the surrounding region. At the same time, it has made living here increasingly unaffordable. This stems not only from its success in attracting workers and students to the region, but also from its refusal to pay its fair share to the city of Ithaca and neighboring communities through local property taxes or adequate payments in lieu of taxes. Cornell doesn’t pay, so everyone else has to pay more.

As the cost of living increases, Cornell refuses to pay its workers a living wage, let alone a thriving wage. The MIT living wage calculator puts the living wage at $24.64 for a single person with no dependents and higher numbers for other household circumstances: $30.82 for two working parents with two children and $56.85 for a lone parent with two children. By contrast, the lowest entry-level wage in the recently expired contract is $19.17. Cornell’s offer of a 4% pay increase brings this up to $19.93, more than $4 below a living wage. (Cornell administrators have pointed out that this is above the current living wage as calculated by the ILR School’s Buffalo and Ithaca Co-Labs. However, if it were calculated today, it would be close to the MIT number, and when it is next re-calculated in February 2025 it will be even higher.)

One result of wages not keeping up with the cost of living is that more and more workers commute from outside Ithaca and Tompkins County. This means that workers pay the cost of gas, wear and tear on vehicles, uncompensated commuting time, and parking. Along with these costs come risks. Workers who can’t get to work on time are vulnerable to disciplinary action, even if it is due to factors outside their control. Parking at Cornell is expensive and is assigned with little regard to need. Cornell could show respect for workers and reduce the daily stress facing workers by providing free parking near the place of work.

We must not forget that UAW members bore the brunt of Cornell’s response to COVID-19. Many administrators, faculty and staff were able to work remotely, providing them with greater flexibility. Largely excluded were workers represented by the UAW, whose skills are essential to keeping the University’s physical infrastructure operational and who literally keep much of the University community housed and fed. These workers have been treated as a second-class workforce, last in line when benefits are doled out, first in line when cost reductions or new burdens are imposed.

The University touts its public mission but refuses to behave as a good citizen. It privatizes the costs and burdens and claims for itself the successes and benefits. It rolls out the red-carpet for wealthy donors while stonewalling in bargaining and giving short-shrift to the people who make the University work. It is acting with the rapacity of a for-profit corporation sitting on $10 billion in wealth rather than with the public-mindedness and fairness required of a great public institution.

The AAUP does not believe it remotely possible for the University to function if there were a strike. It would be equivalent to March 2020, when all operations had to cease and the University’s educational and research missions had to be put on pause. This would further corrode University life and community after several difficult years. The expertise of the UAW 2300 members cannot be replaced, and University administration knows it.

The responsibility for averting a strike lies entirely with the administration. Faculty across the University know that without the work of UAW 2300 members, our teaching and research will grind to a halt. We will stand in solidarity with workers fighting for a living wage and fair working conditions.

Cornell University Chapter of the AAUP Executive Committee: Risa Lieberwitz (President), David Bateman (Vice-President), Ian Greer (Secretary-Treasurer), Suman Seth (At-Large Executive Committee member), and Darlene Evans (At-Large Executive Committee member).

Cornell University Chapter of the AAUP Statement in Support of Cornell Graduate Employees’ Rights to Unionize

On September 29, 2023, the Cornell Graduate Students Union, affiliated with the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (CGSU-UE) filed a petition for an election with the National Labor Relations Board. The Cornell University Chapter of the AAUP stands in strong support of the Cornell graduate worker rights to unionize and engage in collective bargaining about their wages, benefits, hours, and all terms and conditions of employment. The AAUP’s Statement on Collective Bargaining “supports the right of faculty, other academic professionals, and graduate students to form unions” and “promotes collective bargaining to reinforce and secure the principles of academic freedom and tenure, fair workplace procedures, and the economic security of the profession.”

The Cornell administration has stated, “We respect the right of students to unionize if they choose to do so.” Yet, the Cornell administration refused the CGSU-UE’s request that Cornell voluntarily recognize the union based on the strong evidence of majority support through union authorization cards signed by Cornell graduate employees. To show their respect for employees’ choices, the Cornell administration should voluntarily recognize the CGSU-UE as the exclusive bargaining representative of the Cornell graduate employees. We emphasize, as well, that Cornell must show its respect for graduate employees in all their statements and actions in relation to the upcoming union election. The Cornell administration should not only refrain from any interference with graduate employees’ rights to unionize, but it should refrain from making any statements about its views about unionization. As the AAUP Statement on Collective Bargaining states: “Trustees and administrators should maintain neutrality and allow academic workers to determine for themselves whether they would like to be represented by a union.”