Getting Back to School and Back to Work
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In this excerpt of a cross-post from the Student Labor Action Project (SLAP), Jeremy Hedlund and Isaiah Toney, SLAP members at the University of Oregon and George Washington University, respectively, explain that students have real power.
As summer winds down and schools across the nation start back up, students are being forced to ask themselves many tough questions. “How will I pay for my school? Will I be able to get a job when I graduate? And will that job be a good paying, family wage job, or will I have to work weekends just to make ends meet?”
Students, Workers Organize Solidarity Actions on César Chávez’s Birthday
AFL-CIO Media Outreach fellow Jennifer Angarita contributed to this report.
Today, on what would have been César Chávez’s 84th birthday, students, workers and immigrants joined together to pay tribute to the legacy of Chávez.
As a renowned labor activist and a leader of the United Farm Workers (UFW), Chávez’s dedicated vision helped elevate the plight of migrant farm workers to a national spotlight. Today, in Wisconsin and other states where the middle class is under attack, working people are reminded of the struggle for economic and social justice that Chávez and others dedicated their lives to.
Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) Connects College Campuses to Union Movement
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AFL-CIO Media Outreach fellow Jennifer Angarita joins Chris Hicks, Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) coordinator, to discuss the parallels between campus and community organizing.
Founded in 1999 as a joint initiative between Jobs with Justice and the United States Student Association, the Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) engages student activists with economic justice campaigns in their communities and campuses.
Across the country, students in local SLAP chapters meet to organize around issues that affect both students and workers. Currently, campuses are working together to campaign against dramatic state budget cuts that threaten the layoffs of thousands of workers and increase fee tuitions, which leave students with astronomical amounts of debt.
Student Labor Action Week Highlights Jobs, Affordable Education
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The Jobs with Justice annual Student Labor Week of Action starts today, and Carlos Jimenez, coordinator for the JwJ Young Worker Project, tells us what it’s all about.
This week, students across the country will honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and César Chávez by working to build on their struggle for jobs and economic justice. As part of our Student Labor Action Project’s annual Student Labor Week of Action, we are using our power and voice to support workers fighting for better wages by taking part in teach-ins, rallies and other actions that highlight the importance of collective action. We want to bring attention to the enormous jobs crisis that is devastating millions across the nation, and its disastrous impact on America’s young people.
Student Week of Action Promotes Employee Free Choice Nationwide
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This past week, students across the country mobilized to pass the Employee Free Choice Act in the Student Labor Action Project‘s annual Student Labor Week of Action.
The Week of Action commemorates the lives of Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez and their efforts on behalf of dignity and justice for workers. Student organizations taking part included United Students Against Sweatshops and the United States Student Association.
In 28 states and the District of Columbia, hundreds of students from dozens of campuses held rallies, community service days, petition drives, educational forums and other public events to promote workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain and to mobilize for a fair economy.
Student Week of Action Focuses on Employee Free Choice
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This week, Jobs with Justice’s Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) kicks off a week of action in support of the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act and the freedom to form unions and bargain cooperatively to create a strong economy.
As part of SLAP’s week of action, held each year to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and Farm Workers founder César Chávez, students in 28 states and the District of Columbia are getting involved in the campaign for the Employee Free Choice Act. In coordination with the student week of action, Jobs with Justice will hold a “Resistance and Recovery” week of events.
You can find out about student actions in your area here.
