MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota public colleges and universities allow students from all walks of life to pursue their dreams, and it’s where dedicated AFSCME members ensure campuses run smoothly.
But the state higher education system faces devastating cuts.
That’s why members of AFSCME Local 3800 (Council 5), representing clerical, technical, and health care workers across the University of Minnesota system, are standing up and speaking out against the threat to the future of public higher education in Minnesota.
At a rally on Monday, Local 3800 President Max Vast said that the true crisis is not a budget shortfall, but rather a failure of leadership.
Cuts that hurt communities
University of Minnesota administrators have cited federal funding cuts as the reason for potential layoffs, with up to 200 jobs at risk.
As workers face threats of unemployment, the university system’s president, Rebecca Cunningham, continues to earn a salary of $1 million a year.
“One of our members said they work three jobs just to make the equivalent of one wage, while leadership earns three salaries and works one job,” Vast said. “It is more than unjust — it is immoral.”
Meanwhile, the university holds millions in unrestricted funds. AFSCME members say the University of Minnesota system has the resources to protect its workforce but chooses not to. And the cost is not just lost jobs — it is a blow to the very mission of public education.
“AFSCME Council 5's 43,000 members stand firmly behind AFSCME Local 3800 and all of our higher education locals as they endure targeted layoffs, devastating budget cuts, and unjust investigations," said Council 5 Executive Director Bart Andersen. "We know that public colleges and universities thrive when front-line workers have the resources and respect they need in order to serve every student, no matter their background or immigration status.”
A union that stands for more
Local 3800 has been organizing for more than 30 years, and members have never separated the fight for good jobs from the fight for justice.
“We believe that we are whole people,” Vast said. “What matters to our members matters to our union.”
That includes standing with anyone targeted by discriminatory policies or unjust enforcement. When a graduate student was recently detained by federal immigration authorities, the union rallied for that student and for every worker and every community member who feels unsafe.
They’re taking the fight to the bargaining table. With contract negotiations approaching, Local 3800 will be demanding real commitments to job protection, fair wages and reinvestment in the workers who keep the university running.
From protest to power
“We are the ones who make this university run,” Vast said. “We are not asking for a favor. We are demanding the respect we have earned.”
Local 3800 is calling on university administrators to commit to no layoffs for at least one year while the legal and funding battles play out and to use all available funds to avoid cuts to front-line workers.
In Minnesota and across the country, public education deserves to be fully funded – for students’ sake and for the workers who make their campuses thrive.
“AFSCME Council 5 members will continue fighting for fair wages, real job protection, and the essential mission of public education,” said Andersen of Council 5. “When we raise our voices together, we can protect Minnesota’s higher education system and ensure it remains a safe and thriving place that provides opportunity for all.”