SUPPORT OF FREE HIGHER EDUCATION

WHEREAS, in the 19th and early 20th centuries the labor movement led the fight for universal access to primary and secondary education as a basic social right; and

WHEREAS, in the 1950s and 1960s the civil rights movement established the right of all Americans to equal access to public education; and

WHEREAS, in the 21st century a college education is a prerequisite for effective labor force participation and economic security for workers and their families; and

WHEREAS, the lack of access by growing numbers of Americans to postsecondary education severely limits democratic participation in the economic and political processes of the United States and results in a tragic loss of diverse human potential; and

WHEREAS, deep cuts in state appropriations to public higher education institutions, including the historically black institutions and those that serve large numbers of Hispanic students, along with the failure of federal student aid to keep up with tuition increases; and

WHEREAS, 39 percent of student borrowers leave school with an unmanageable debt with the average debt for borrowers at public colleges being $14,300, two and a half times as high as it was in 1990; and*

WHEREAS, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, at the current rate of enrollment of blacks in institutions of higher education, college graduation parity with whites will not be reached until 2075; and**

WHEREAS, studies have shown that the GI Bill was one of the most successful programs in the nation’s history and that every $1.00 invested in this program on those who otherwise would not have attended college produced a $6.90 return in increased national output and tax revenues; and

WHEREAS, the Collective Bargaining Congress of the American Association of University Professors, the AAUP Rutgers Council of AAUP, AFT locals such as PSC/CUNY Local 2334, Local 1789/Seattle Community Colleges, the New Jersey AFT Council of State Colleges, as well as the California Faculty Association, civil rights organizations, and community groups have embarked upon a national campaign to achieve free tuition and fees for anyone meeting the admissions criteria at any public postsecondary educational institution:

RESOLVED, that the AFT support the campaign for the right of all Americans to have access to a fully funded free public higher education; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT assist in mobilizing broad public support for this right. [Executive Council, May 2005]

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* "Heavy Debts for a Degree," O. Winslow, Newsday.com, March 22, 2004
** "The State of the Dream,? United for a Fair Economy, March 23, 2004