Takeaway: We will need to work together as colleagues and union members to confront the challenges posed by a Trump presidency. If you want to get more involved in your union, click here and fill out this form—then share the link with a colleague so they can get more involved, too!
Dear colleague,
We want to take time today to welcome you back to a new semester, wish you the best on the first day of classes, and look ahead to some of the challenges we will face this year.
There’s no sugarcoating those challenges—either for higher ed or for our society. Yesterday saw the inauguration of a US president and vice president who state openly that they consider professors and academia “the enemy.” After an unhinged inaugural speech, Trump wasted no time in signing a raft of executive orders that punish immigrants, turn back the clock on climate action, and much, much more.
In the coming days, we will need to respond to immediate dangers to our students, our communities, and ourselves. The impact of Trump’s threatened mass deportations and cruel attacks on trans people will be felt directly by our members and students at Rutgers, not to mention beyond our campuses and in the state of New Jersey as a whole. Our unions are working with organizations that will lead a response to these assaults, and we will get you information on how you can get involved.
As for what’s in store for higher ed, we know how much Trump and Vance admire Viktor Orbán, the authoritarian president of Hungary, who has taken control of public universities, punished teachers who don’t follow the party line, banned gender and women’s studies, and literally drove Central European University out of the country. Trumpian cheerleaders like Christopher Rufo are already using the Orbán playbook in Florida, imposing changes to curricula and academic missions at state colleges and universities. And the new Republican head of the House witch-hunt committee that targeted academic freedom and protest rights in higher education last spring has already signaled that Rutgers will face more persecution.
No one has all the answers to how we should respond in the coming days. We will need to talk together about this—among individuals, in departments and classrooms, at union meetings. For now, though, we want to say two more things:
First, the blizzard of right-wing attacks we are seeing now, on every issue all at once, is designed to frighten you into silence and submission. Don’t let it! Don’t forget that many of the policies that Trump’s Republican Party will pursue are unpopular and will provoke resistance. Don’t forget that you are surrounded by colleagues who feel as strongly as you do about defending our university’s academic mission and protecting our communities.
Second, you are members of a union that has come together to fight for a better Rutgers and achieved a great deal, especially during our strike two years ago. We haven’t won every battle, we have more ahead, and it’s no secret that we have disagreements among ourselves. But we also have a record of uniting—across ranks, across campuses, across everything that might divide us—to win crucial gains that benefit the whole Rutgers community.
“An injury to one is an injury to all.” We ask you to remember that old labor movement slogan in the days ahead. Check in with your department and school colleagues about what they’re facing, on campus and off, and discuss what you can do together to fight back. Get involved in your union, if you’re not already. If you aren’t sure how to plug in, click here and fill out this form—then share the link with a colleague so they can get involved, too.
Our unions will have the power to confront the challenges we face—if we fight together!
In solidarity,
Todd, Bryan, Becky, Amy, Miguel, and Howie
Todd Wolfson, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Bryan Sacks, President, Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union
Rebecca Givan, General Vice President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Amy Higer, Vice President, Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union
Miguel Rodriguez, Secretary-Treasurer, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Howie Swerdloff, Secretary, Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union
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