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By Chris Hicks, on April 8th, 2011
 On Monday, April 4th, over 200 students from University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver, and Metropolitan State College of Denver participated in a walkout and rally in support of labor and education. The action was in conjunction with the April 4th “We Are One” National Day of Action that SLAP, Jobs with Justice, and United States Student Association all actively participated in as a response to the recent attack on workers and students across the country.
In Colorado, two anti-worker bills earlier this February:
Senate Bill 12, by Sen. Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, would have prohibited public entities from collectively bargaining with a labor union, or an employee association from acting as a bargaining agent for public employees.
Senate Bill 38, by Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, would have prohibited an employee organization from being officially recognized as the exclusive representative of state employees, barred the state from negotiating with an employee organization to create an employee partnership agreement, and terminated any existing partnership agreements.
At a time when workers’ rights are under attack around the country, many students
Continue reading 200+ Denver Students Stage Walkout for Labor & Education
By Chris Hicks, on March 30th, 2011
By Curtis Hierro
March 19th through the 22nd, students from around the country gathered in D.C. for the United States Students Association’s 42nd annual Grassroots Legislative Conference. Over 400 students were able to attend workshops, hear speakers and march on the capital for National Student Lobby Day. This conference was more important than ever as campuses across the country are being forced to confront budget cuts that threaten our educational system and the very stability of America’s working class.
The Student Labor Action Project (a joint project between USSA and Jobs with Justice) gave workshops on media techniques, fundraising tactics and the importance of building ties between students and labor.
Labor was well represented throughout the four day event. The first woman Secretary-Treasurer for the Wisconsin state AFL-CIO, Stephanie Bloomingdale, ignited the crowd on the conference’s opening night, speaking of the importance of students partnering with labor to take on the corporate-political power structure. Stephanie dismantled the “ideology” behind Gov. Scott Walker’s attack on labor unions, identifying him as nothing more than a corporate sponsored puppet. Stephanie’s speech was great in articulating the integral role of labor unions in our democracy, as she said: “Collective bargaining is not only a
Continue reading USSA’s Legislative Conference Focuses in on Labor
By Chris Hicks, on February 22nd, 2011
Community, labor, students and faith coming together makes such a beautiful picture. Wisconsin residents are fighting back against right-wing attacks on students, workers and the public sector, which are being lead by Governor Walker. Citing a $137 million budget deficit, Gov. Walker has defended his claims that public unions should essentially lose bargaining rights and have their benefits cuts – but has said nothing about the fact that 2/3rd of the corporations in Wisconsin pay no taxes at all. Gov. Walker has threatened to call in the National Guard but students and workers have remained united, refusing to leave.
But we can’t stop and just watch what happens in Wisconsin. At the heart of this it’s an ideological battle happening around the country. Who should run our neighborhoods, community or corporations? In what seems to be state-after-state, copy-cat SB 1070′s are being introduced (while the original is being contested by the federal government), there are attacks on the public sector and services, and the House of Representatives leadership’s Continuing Resolution cuts the maximum Pell Grant award by $845, bringing the total down to $4,705 for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 and also:
Eliminates
Continue reading Where’s The Funding?! Public Need vs Corporate Greed
By Caleen Carter, on December 7th, 2010
 On November 18th, a group of students from University of Illinois-Chicago and University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign gathered at the Board of Trustees meeting in Chicago to voice their concern with the rapidly growing cost of tuition. After being denied a one-on-one meeting, a student stood up at the end of the Board of Trustees meeting and yelled, “Our concerns haven’t been addressed!” As other students started to chant “Tuition freeze now!” security guards rushed towards the bandanna-covered students to quiet them down. As the students refused to budge, the security guards got physical—pushing a student outside.
All over the nation, students are being denied an education because they can’t afford tuition costs. Student debt has surpassed all other forms of debt, but the Pell Grant will be underfunded by $5.5 billion in the coming year—denying hundreds of thousands of students a right to an education. As Pell Grants are targeted towards students from low-income families, underfunding is another way to discriminate against students.
A recent college graduate, I entered the working world in one of the
Continue reading Pell Grant Underfunded as Tuition Costs Continue to Rise
By jwjnational, on November 24th, 2010
 The Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act, commonly known as the DREAM Act, would give young people a chance to have an equal opportunity at the American Dream in the only place they know as home: the United States.
The DREAM Act will allow children who were brought to the United States before age 16, who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years, graduated from high school, and are of good moral character the opportunity to earn citizenship through at least two years of college or military service. Every year, 65,000 students are denied the right to an education based on the status of their documentation.
On Monday, November 29th the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the DREAM Act. Sen. Harry Reid has pledged to bring the DREAM Act up before a stand-alone vote in the Senate before the end of the 2010 Congressional session.
Tell your Representative to support the DREAM Act!
By Maria Escobar, on March 4th, 2010
 Today, March 4th, students and workers wake up to prepare for rallies, walkouts, call in days and many more activities during the National Day to Defend Education and the Jobs with Justice national week of action to save and create jobs .
Students and workers are tired of having the federal and state budgets balanced on their backs and are standing up to these atrocities. Today, we will stand up to demand full funding of higher education, a stop to the corporatization of education, proportionate representation on university decision -making bodies, and good union jobs in our schools. We will demonstrate that students and workers will not stand on the sidelines as education become a privilege available only to the few and while jobs are lost because of state budget cuts and the inaction in the federal government to pass student aid reform.
We are fighting these cuts now, but we also know that we need to look at the root problem and seek ways to fund the public sector through revenue reform and change the ways that corporations continue profiting from our
Continue reading Today: Take Action to Defend Education
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