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

Continue reading USSA’s Legislative Conference Focuses in on Labor

During this post-election “Lame Duck” session of Congress, the U.S. Student Association and the Student Labor Action Project launched their “Students vs Lame Duck” campaign set on passing the DREAM Act.

The first step was ensuring both the House and Senate voted on the legislation.  Following Senator Harry Reid’s announcement on Wednesday, it looks like the DREAM Act will finally come up for a stand-alone vote after Thanksgiving.  Now it’s time to hold our elected representatives accountable!

The DREAM Act will allow children who were brought to the United States as minors, 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.

In the past

Continue reading Undocumented and Unafraid: Students Speak out for their DREAMs

The past two months have been unprecedented, filled with victories and actions that have proven to be successful in bringing real change to our communities.

The first victory for working class people was the passage of the Student Aid reform.  This bill will take away subsidies given to loan companies and invest them into programs such as the Pell grant and community colleges.  “Students across the country were able to see their amazing direct-action organizing payoff with comprehensive student aid reform becoming the law of the land,” said USSA President Gregory Cendana.  “This is especially critical for working class students and families who have struggled the most in affording their education.”

The second victory was the agreement reached between for the Coalition of Immokalee workers, the Student Farmworker Alliance, and  giant food service provider Aramark.  Marc Rodriguez of the Student Farmworker Alliance said:

Aramark becomes the 8th major food corporation to agree to work with the CIW to improve wages and root out modern-day slavery in its tomato supply chain.

Continue reading Student Labor Week of Action Builds on Successes

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Tonight we are on the verge of one of the biggest victories in the recent student movement: the passage of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA).

This victory has come with hard work from students nationwide who have marched, rallied and lobbied in support of this legislation.   Last Tuesday as part of the U.S. Student Association’s Legislative Conference, hundreds of students swarmed Capitol Hill demanding the passage of this legislation and reminding their Senators that they should prioritize students and workers over banks.  This effort by USSA has proven to be successful as we see the biggest reform in the student loan industry in the past years.

This march and victory is a great opening for the National Student Labor Week of Action. This week happening from March 28th and April 4th brings together students and workers in actions across the country demanding a prioritization in education and worker’s rights.

Continue reading Major Victory to Kick-Off the National Student Labor Week of Action

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