WHEREAS, Higher education is facing an unprecedented national assault driven by politicians, billionaire donors, and corporate interests who seek to attack academic freedom, decimate scientific research, censor educators, dismantle civil rights protections and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, criminalize and separate immigrant families, persecute trans people, and weaken unions; and
WHEREAS, The attack on education is a central part of an agenda that is breaking democratic norms, threatening the integrity of upcoming elections, attacking Black and Brown communities, ending hard-fought-for voting rights, and attempting to cement authoritarian power in pursuit of enriching the billionaire class even further; and
WHEREAS, Rutgers union members know firsthand that independent colleges and universities, labor rights, and the democratic right to vote are three (3) foundations to the success of our communities and our democracy, and that attacks on unions and higher education are attacks on critical thinking, our students and our communities; and
WHEREAS, Billionaires, the ultra-wealthy, and powerful corporations are funding campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels to avoid paying taxes, thus defunding public education and destroying our ability to teach and conduct research; and
WHEREAS, May Day is rooted in labor history and represents the global tradition of workers organizing collectively for dignity, safety, and justice; and
WHEREAS, In recent years, May Day has become a powerful National Day of Action uniting labor, educators, students, and immigrant and community organizations; and
WHEREAS, Historic examples from enslaved Africans breaking the confederacy, A. Philip Randolph’s organization of a march on Washington, the Civil Rights movement’s response to Jim Crow, the late Rev. Jackson’s Operation Breadbasket, the courageous day of truth and freedom in Minneapolis, and international resistance to fascism teach us that the most effective force to strengthen and fortify our country’s democracy is workers’ collective action in coalition with community; and
WHEREAS Trump has illegally declared war on Iran, a war built on lies and deception, using American resources to bomb schools, hospitals, and civilian infrastructure, killing, harming, and displacing countless people in both Iran and Lebanon,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Rutgers AAUP-AFT formally declares May 1 a Day of Action in Defense of Democracy and Higher Education, a day when we will be in community, engaging our students, their families and our neighbors, supporting mutual aid efforts, leading civic education, participating in voter registration, know your rights and mass resistance training, from the beginning to the end of the day; and
RESOLVED that we will join our siblings in Minnesota and the nation in the call for a National Day of “No Work, No School, and No Shopping” to defend our democracy, to demand ICE out of our cities, and to tax the rich to support public education and vital services; and
RESOLVED that Rutgers AAUP-AFT calls on members to participate in collective actions on May Day, in coalition with labor and community partners, and to reject privatization, illegal wars, union-busting, anti-immigrant and anti-DEI policies, and federal overreach into our campuses; and
RESOLVED that Rutgers AAUP-AFT will continue building a national fight-back alongside unions and community organizations across the country to defend colleges and universities; and
RESOLVED that Rutgers AAUP-AFT commits to sustained organizing beyond May Day to protect our campuses, our communities, and our democracy.