Be warned: attacking unions is a hallmark of fascism. https://www.commondreams.org/news/david-huerta-arrested

DAVID IS RELEASED and with his family! He still faces an unjust felony charge. While we’re relieved that David is out after three nights in detention, we demand the Trump regime drop the unjust charge against him & end the raids! seiu.co/endraids #FreeDavidEndRaids

The U.S. Department of State has been exercising a last-minute veto of applications to the prestigious Fulbright program on ideological grounds — often rejecting grants funded in part, or largely, by foreign countries, not the U.S. chroni.cl/3FrqPLr

International Students Hit With Back-to-Back Orders Trump issued two orders Wednesday night that could deal a major blow to international enrollment. One targets @harvard.edu; the other restricts travel from more than a dozen countries, raising... #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4kT1itw

Read our open letter from VCU faculty citing concern about the silencing of student voices and unlawful withholding of diplomas from student activists: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

"Students, in daring to protest U.S. complicity, risk punishment, arrest, or in the case of noncitizens, deportation. Far from being safe havens from authoritarianism, college campuses are functioning as training grounds for it." richmond.com/opinion/colu...

BREAKING: Rümeysa, our union sister who was snatched by ICE, is free today. We stood up for our union family and demanded justice! When you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. #4the1st ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

I should add that this happened between their initial warning and the police shutdown — which could have extended the time students were on the lawn.

Usually punishment looks like community service or writing an essay, but one of the three — Sereen Haddad — has had policy violations before and could face something more severe this time like suspension/expulsion.

UPDATE: Three graduating seniors — leaders of the VCU SJP chapter — are having their degrees temporarily withheld over pending investigations for breaking VCU’s interim campus expression and space utilization policy.

What is a safety ambassador?

The minimum wage isn’t just low — it’s a trap. $7.25 in 2025 will leave a full-time worker thousands of dollars below the poverty line. Congress, raise the wage. Protect working people. seiu.co/3EJtLTi

Trump’s 100-Day War on Higher Ed In his first few months in office, the president attacked higher education with dizzying frequency, confronting colleges and unraveling decades of federal policy. We look at 10 ways the administration has upended... #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/42yQ47c

For the rest of eternity, anyone who hires someone with DOGE on their resume is a traitor.

Students were peacefully gathered on the anniversary of VCU's violent April 2024 Gaza solidarity encampment until police shut down the event and asked them to move to the "designated area for free speech." commonwealthtimes.org/2025/04/30/v...

Register below for the first in a series of panel discussions co-sponsored by Scholars for a New Deal in Higher Ed, the Critical Legal Collective, & the AAUP’s Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom. Monday, April 28! @sfndhe.bsky.social us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

RSVP for our 2025 May Day cookout is live! This year we're hosted at the Teamsters Union Hall. This annual event is family friendly, with plenty of food and drinks for central Va workers—let us know if you'll join us! secure.everyaction.com/4yXwA4HclkOL...

"It’s no coincidence that the language of mobilization, defense, and alliances evokes times of war. We are under attack, and we are out-resourced. The only way we can stand fast is to stand together." #academicsky

It's in the graphic but you can't click it. Try this: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

@aaup.bsky.social @higheredlabor.bsky.social @lawcha.bsky.social @jillkmpenn.bsky.social

Once again, elementary school staff are standing up to ICE while the wealthiest, most powerful universities in the country meekly hand students over to anyone who shows up in black balaclavas and an unmarked car

The news comes days after the University of Virginia joined the growing list of U.S. colleges where the federal government under the Trump administration has canceled some international students' visas.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia had a court order preventing his deportation to his native El Salvador over fears he'd face persecution from gangs.

Thirty faculty groups, including seventeen AAUP chapters, organized to join an amicus brief urging a preliminary injunction against ideological deportations of students and scholars

Free speech is a right, not a privilege. When Rumeysa was detained for using her voice, it became an issue that impacts all of us. This is bigger than one case—it’s about defending our right to organize, speak out, and live without fear. #4The1st seiu.co/3G2YsCX

It’s deeply embarrassing how swiftly American universities have caved to foreign interests, betraying their own students, shutting down dialogue, and abandoning the fundamental principle that universities should be spaces for the free exchange of ideas and diverse perspectives.

We're excited to announce the formation of the Richmond Community Legal Fund! Join us for a fundraiser launch on 4/25 hosted by @studiotwothree.bsky.social. Get your tickets here: secure.actblue.com/donate/guerr...

Our lobby day rally video is live! Check out all these amazing voices standing up for workers and students at the GA this year:

Just as a reminder, separate from the executive orders being blocked in federal court, the Code of Virginia explicitly prohibits discrimination on account of gender identity.

BREAKING: Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier released from prison after nearly 50 years

Trump’s candidate for Secretary of Labor Lori M. Chavez-DeRemer in today's confirmation hearing: “The right-to-work is a fundamental tenet of labor laws, where states have a right to choose if they want to be a right-to-work state, and that should be protected.”

Rand Paul has introduced a National Right to Work Act. The bill is an attack on organized labor and workers across the country. It would make it harder for workers to unionize, win good contracts, and maintain their unions.

For those following the court challenges against the anti-trans EOs: 1) There’s a district court hearing today on the GAC ban for those <19. Here in #Virginia, VCU, UVA and CHKD all chose advance compliance instead of fighting for their patients and physicians. assets.aclu.org/live/uploads...

BREAKING: Donald Trump has chosen his nominee to lead OSHA. It's David Keeling, the former UPS and Amazon safety executive.

We’re back on Capitol Hill to rally with @aftunion.bsky.social and @neatoday.bsky.social to protect the Department of Education and our kids’ futures!

Workers in strong union states made nearly $173 MORE PER WEEK in 2024—regardless of whether they were in a union. UNIONS RAISE WAGES FOR ALL WORKERS. THAT'S WHY CEOS DON'T LIKE THEM.

The ACLU and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups are suing President Trump and the HHS over an order to halt gender-affirming medical care for people under 19. One of the plaintiffs is a 17yo transgender girl whose recent appointment for hormone treatment with Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU was canceled.

Livable wages and good healthcare shouldn't be a luxury—they're what ALL workers are owed, no matter their job or zip code.

Take away our kids and grandparent’s Medicaid to give tax breaks to billionaires? NO F*#&ING WAY! LISTEN UP, CONGRESS: Families of every race and every place should have the freedom to get the healthcare we need. Call 866-426-2631. Tell Congress #HandsOffMedicaid

Read more: www.laborrelationsupdate.com/2025/02/brea...

Last year Elon Musk and SpaceX claimed the NLRB is unconstitutional after being accused of labor violations. Now under Trump, the NLRB is dropping its opposition to this claim. The labor board will no longer fight in court against the charges that it shouldn't exist.

I called the office of the VCU president, and I asked if the new VCU Health policy impacting gender affirming care only affects minors. The assistant had no info, like she hadn't heard anything. She directed me to call the VCU Health patient relations line at 804-628-0400... which went to voicemail.

#RVA folks, please also reach out to your representatives to see if they can also get eyes and pressure on this. I spoke with @mcclellan.house.gov's office who said they were aware and are tracking this among other issues from last night. Her office # is (202) 225–6365 if she's also your rep

Virginia trans + non-binary folks, download a copy of this list of trans-friendly medical resources while VDH still has it up: www.vdh.virginia.gov/content/uplo...

called Senator Bagby and heard back that VCU Health is obeying in advance, halting trans care and appointments, in fear of losing funding under Trump's anti-trans EO. my old college is directly harming their own patients. please call any of the numbers in this thread and let them know

Anyways Senator Bagby (and board member of VCU Health) can be reached here if you’d like to confirm this: (804) 698-7514

1) I sent FOIA requests to VCU and UVA. 2) This denies medically-necessary transition-related care (for kids *and* young adults) as defined by § 38.2-3449.1 of the Code of Virginia. 3) The self-described party of freedom, liberty, small government and parental rights disregarded their own identity.

New VCU confirms they’ve suspended all trans affirming care for those 19 and younger. Says guidance came from the state. Story coming shortly.

But then the day after this, the administration decided to pause all promotions if someone doesn’t have a Ph.D. Temp policy: blogs.vcu.edu/provost/2025... commonwealthtimes.org/2025/01/23/t...