CWA Campus Workers in Virginia Oppose Attacks on Higher Education

Over the past few months, President Donald Trump has targeted the University of Virginia (UVA) with lawsuits and threats of funding cuts, with potentially devastating consequences for members of the United Campus Workers-VA (UCW-CWA Local 2265). While UVA’s governing board, called the Board of Visitors, has been rushing to comply, UCW-VA members have been at the forefront of campus-wide initiatives to oppose these attacks.

One thousand members of the UVA community rallied on October 22 to oppose signing Trump's compact for universities. UCW-VA members followed this action with a march on the Board of Visitors on December 5. The Board moved their meeting location to a nearby private country club, but they couldn’t avoid the scrutiny of UCW-VA members who took buses to the location. In response, the Board chose to end their meeting early.

Under pressure from Trump, UVA’s president resigned over the summer. CWA-endorsed Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger instructed the Board not to appoint a president until she had taken office. Despite this directive, and against the will of the University, including union activists from UCW-VA and the American Association of University Professors, the Board appointed a new president. The move sparked a backlash from Virginia legislators who pledged to reverse the decision in the legislative season. UCW-VA members and allies will continue to oppose these attacks on their jobs, their research, and the entire campus community.

 
United Campus Workers-CWA Local 2336 members rally at the University of Virginia to oppose the harmful actions of the university’s governing board.

---

This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.