On Monday, March 31st, students and workers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UMN) and members of the public gathered for a public rally with members of American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees at University of Minnesota (AFSCME UMN) Local 3800 and Graduate Labor Union – United Electrical Local 1105 (GLU-UE) to denounce the university’s attack on faculty and student free speech, budget cuts effecting workers, and the University of Minnesota Board of Regents acquiescence to the administration of Donald Trump on program and funding cuts that threaten students and workers at the UMN.
The workers also rallied in support of an unidentified graduate student who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 27, 2025, and another student that was revealed to had been abducted on March 28, 2025 from the campus of Minnesota State University Mankato.
Hundreds of students and workers gathered on campus at the UMN in front of Morrell Hall, the same hall which was occupied for 24 hours back in January 1969 by 70 black students to protest institutional racism and the lack of outreach, support, and culturally relevant coursework for students of color. At the rally, AFSCME 3800 President Max Vast, GLU-UE President Abaki Beck and others addressed the crowd with both a list of demands to UMN President Rebecca Cunningham and addressing the working conditions on campus that were making it harder for UMN workers and faculty to do their jobs.
The list of demands includes the following:
- An immediate meeting with AFSMCE-3800 and GLU-UE, to ensure the urgent concerns of our union members are addressed and swiftly acted upon.
- A clear, written commitment to defending immigrant workers by providing immediate and full financial, material, and legal support for international students and workers facing the treat of deportation. Establish the University of Minnesota as an official Sanctuary Campus to protect our community.
- A binding agreement to halt layoffs for one year due to federal funding cuts, providing staff with job security as legal challenges to cuts unfold. The future under the Trump administration remains uncertain and in President Cummingham’s own words, “we should not overreact to what continues to be a fluid situation”.
- A rapid expansion of Know Your Rights trainings for all students and workers to ensure that we are fully prepared to defend out rights and stay safe in the face of increasing federal attacks.
- A publicly communicated plan to strengthen and expand our legal challenges to federal funding cuts, outlining how the University will address the potential impact of funding cuts. We demand the University commit to leveraging the full power of the University to resist these attacks, and ensuring that workers’ jobs and research remains protected.
- An end to union busting on campus, demonstrated by bargaining in good faith with our Unions, and immediately and voluntarily recognizing graduate fellows and newly organized workers on campus. Strong unions are the foundation of our university and make this a better place to work, live, and study for everyone.
- Immediate action to end political repression on campus, including a clear commitment to protect workers targeted by McCarthyist federal investigations, immediately repealing restrictive protest policies, reversing the consolidation of power over departmental speech, and ending retaliation against campus protest. We further demand the University refuse to comply with the Trump Administration’s request for names and nationalities of students and workers involvement in protest.
- A written commitment to no cuts to cultural centers or academic programs, and the continuation of critical EDI work. The University must take concrete steps to ensure ALL students and workers feel safe, supported, and respected on this campus. This work is far from finished.
AFSCME-UMN will also be heading to the bargaining table for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the UMN as their prior contact was three years ago. President Vast appealed for continued support from the students and workers in their fight to secure a new CBA and the rights of all students and workers in the UMN.
LUEL applauds AFSCME-UMN Local 3800 and GLU-UE Local 1105 for standing up for fellow workers and students. LUEL calls on the UMN and all university systems to respect the rights of students and workers and for the UMN to recognize the graduate fellows and other workers that want to form a union.
AFSCME-UMN Local 3800 can be found at: https://www.afscmemn.org/local-3800-university-minnesota-clerical-workers GLU-UE Local 1105 can be found at: https://umnglu.org/
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