The Dig Class Struggle for the University w/ Ian Gavigan
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Sep 6, 2025 Ian Gavigan, Executive Director of Higher Education Labor United and co-founder during his graduate days at Rutgers, sheds light on the fight against the neoliberal transformation of higher education. He discusses the importance of solidarity among campus workers and unionization efforts to reclaim academia as a public good. Gavigan addresses the ideological battles being waged in higher education and the impact of right-wing policies. He advocates for collective action in response to repression, stressing the need for equitable access and the preservation of the humanities.
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Research Funding Became A Political Flashpoint
- Targeting federal research funding was a strategic vulnerability for the administration but provoked broad pushback.
- Concerted cross-union action helped blunt proposed research cuts in practice.
Use Coordinated Days Of Action
- Use distributed national days of action to generate political pressure and force defensive wins.
- Link campus coalitions with student and community allies to escalate strategically where needed.
Liberal Capitulation Fueled Trump's Pretext
- Liberal institutions and Democrats' prior denunciations of campus Palestine activism made a pretext for wider repression.
- That prior positioning handed Trump a ready-made narrative to target universities.
