(The Center Square) – Eleven national labor unions gathered Monday in Philadelphia, calling on Vice President Kamala Harris for help in solving the future of higher education in the United States.
Several union leaders representing faculty and staff at hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the country held a press conference on the campus of Community College of Philadelphia to release a signed Statement of Unity.
“Without a just and inclusive higher education system that serves the public good, the majority of Americans will be excluded from meaningful participation in our democracy,” said Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors. “We call on Kamala Harris to help resolve the higher education crisis by fully funding higher education, expanding access, ending the student debt emergency, safeguarding job security, and protecting the freedom to learn, speak, assemble, research, and organize in all higher education institutions.”
During the press conference, the coalition issued policy demands, pushing for full funding of public higher education and the use of federal funding to incentivize high levels of full-time, secure, insourced employment for higher education workers and to prevent layoffs and program closures.
The coalition is asking Harris to end student debt for everyone while pushing for immigration reform for undocumented and international students and workers.
“As I’m welcoming students in my UCLA classroom this fall, I’m teaching in a context of budget cuts, privatization, adjunctification, and extreme cost of living pressures for workers and students,” said Mia McIver, chairwoman of Higher Ed Labor United. “It’s up to us in the higher ed labor movement to fight for public reinvestment that will reverse these trends.”
According to a Grapevine report, state support for higher education topped $126 billion in 2024, an increase of 10.2% over the last year compared to fiscal year 2023.
This is the third year that reports show that state support topped $100 billion reflecting a 36.5% increase over the past five years. The report stated that states allocated 50.5% less in federal funding compared to 2023, while states have allocated nearly $10 billion in federal stimulus to higher education.