UAW Higher Education Council Virtual Meeting

Last year, over 300 UAW members in the Higher Ed sector gathered in Pico Rivera, California, for the first meeting of the Higher Education Council. We discussed our “Kill the Cuts” campaign to protect and increase federal funding for science, and we strategized how to fight back against further attacks on free speech, the rights of workers in all immigration statuses, and job security at our local institutions. While we’ve had many wins in 2025, we know the fight isn’t over.

For 2026, albeit a busy year for our union, we are planning a virtual meeting for the Higher Education Council. This will help minimize costs for local unions and enable more members and prospective members to attend our Higher Education Council meeting.

Please Save the Date:
This year, UAW Higher Education Council will hold a virtual meeting in lieu of an in-person meeting, on May 8th and 9th 2026, times TBD. In order to plan a productive and helpful council meeting, please complete this survey: 2026 Higher-Ed Council Survey – Fill out form

Process for Electing Council Delegates:
Per the Higher Education Council Bylaws, each bargaining unit is allotted delegates and votes to the Higher Education Council based on membership size. See the attachment that includes the number of delegates and votes for each bargaining unit, organized by Local Union. Many bargaining units elected delegates in 2025, are still completing their term. If you need to hold vacancy elections to replace any delegate, please make sure the elections are completed by April 15, 2026.

Eligibility for Delegates:
Any unit member in good standing may run to be a delegate for their unit, or as an at-large delegate if their unit has less than 100 members. Presidents of local unions representing workers in higher education are eligible to run as at-large delegates, or as delegates from the higher education unit of which they are a member.

Sub-Councils:
The Council meeting will also include meeting times of the four Higher Education Sub-Councils:

1. Student Workers
2. Postdocs/Researchers
3. University Staff (Non-Academic)
4. Faculty

Where possible, Council delegates shall also serve as designated Sub-Council delegates.

Higher Education Council Per Capita Dues:
Per the Council Bylaws, beginning July 1, 2025, each local union with Higher Education bargaining units should have begun contributing a portion of their monthly dues to fund the activities of the Council. Please ensure your local is paying into the Council Dues. If you have questions about your contributions, please reach out to the Higher Education Department at HigherEd@uaw.net.

Registration:
We will send a link to register for the conference at a later date. Where necessary, local unions should elect Council delegates by April 15, 2026, so that they can register.

If UAW members or workers on active UAW organizing campaigns in the Higher Ed sector would like to attend the Council meetings, they should fill out the forthcoming registration form.

Meeting Schedule:
While the meeting is scheduled for 2 days, we do NOT expect full days on Zoom. We plan to have 3 to 4 hour blocks each day. More details on the exact times of days and meeting topics will be sent next month. In the meantime, please encourage the Higher Ed elected leaders to fill out the survey (link also included here: 2026 Higher-Ed Council Survey – Fill out form).

Other:
There is no conference registration fee. Expenses including lost time and per diems are the responsibility of the Local Union.

If you have any questions, please contact HigherEd@uaw.net.