HELU Winter Summit

Higher Ed Labor (HELU) United Winter Summit: four afternoons of online workshops, panel discussions, and plenary sessions held Wednesday, February 23, through Sunday, February 27. HELU, the coalition of college and university unions and organizations that our union is part of, will be discussing next steps for transforming higher education.

We’re excited to hear from some of the most important voices of our movement. The conference kicks off on Wednesday the 23rd with a plenary featuring union organizer and author Jane McAlevey and flight attendant union leader Sara Nelson. Other highlighted speakers include Erica Smiley, executive director of Jobs With Justice, on Thursday the 24th; Stacy Davis Gates, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, on Saturday the 26th; and renowned author and social justice activist Naomi Klein, the keynote speaker at the summit’s final plenary session on Sunday the 27th.

At this summit, member unions and organizations will discuss a broader focus, with three core tasks in mind:

• Coordinating the surge of higher education worker organizing across the country.
• Developing federal policy proposals to reverse the trends that have damaged higher education over the last several decades.
• Engaging in the political process on these issues and working to support those who will advance a program of democratizing higher education.

We know it will be a stimulating, productive gathering, both for developing strategy and for building solidarity across job categories, campuses, and union lines. We hope you’ll take the time to attend for at least some of the four days. Click here for more information on the summit, and click here register. Because you are represented by our union, an endorsing organization, registration is free, and you will be able to attend all the sessions.