ALCESXXI joins the statements issued by several organizations, including the AAUP and Student Workers of Columbia, to stand in solidarity with the Temple University Graduate Students Association, TUGSA, and their strike for a fair contract, which began on January 31. Members of ALCESXXI condemn the retaliatory measures announced by the Temple University administration on February 9, which include withdrawing healthcare and canceling tuition remission to graduate workers who remain on strike. We understand that these punitive and intimidatory measures have only one objective: to threaten workers’ legal right to strike. From ALCESXXI, we demand the immediate reinstatement of these benefits and the resumption of negotiations in good faith to achieve a contract that dignifies the working conditions of Temple University’s graduate student workers. We are confident that TUGSA’s struggle for a better university will prevail and its victory will contribute to the national wave of labor struggles focused on improving the conditions of academic workers across the country. Temple works because its graduate workers work!
