A look at the latest demands from UCW, Colorado’s higher-ed union

Yesterday afternoon, at least a hundred people gathered in front of the University Memorial Center on the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder campus. Many of them held bright red, black, and white signs with straight and to-the-point phrases like “WE NEED A RAISE!” and “$14K PER CLASS.”

The rally was organized by UCW-CWA Local 7799, the union that represents CU’s graduate students, non-tenure track faculty. and university staff.

This time, UCW’s demands focused mainly on higher wages for all CU system employees. KGNU and Report for America’s Jackie Sedley attended the rally yesterday and spoke to Alexis Kenyon about what they heard.

Take a listen for a brief explanation of who is a part of the union and what they are fighting for, as well as stories from union members about their struggles to make ends meet with their current wages and salaries.

Other voices in the story include Jade Kelly, president of CWA Local 7799 and CU staff member; Sigman Byrd, teaching associate professor at CU; and Jessica Lawson, an adjunct professor at CU previously unnamed speaker in this story.