How Unions Have Supported the Palestine Student Protests
Over the last few weeks across the US, pro-Palestine student protesters have faced harsh crackdowns from university administrators and police. At many campuses, labor unions have been coming to the protesters’ defense.
Pro-Palestinian protesters walk from Columbia University down to Hunter College as protests at area universities and colleges continue on May 6, 2024 in New York City. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
As campus protests — and violent police repression — continue to roll across the country, some unions are getting involved.
More than 2,700 protesters have been arrested on college campuses since the initial arrests at Columbia University in New York on April 18. The protesting students are calling for full disclosure of their universities’ finances and divestment from all financial ties to weapons manufacturers and Israel’s war on Gaza.
Unionized academic workers are demanding decision-making power over their work and what it’s used for. For instance, academic workers in the astronomy department of the University of California Santa Cruz have organized to refuse to apply for or accept funding from the US Department of Defense, weapons manufacturers, and military contractors.
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