We’ll keep it brief—we know the news is full of attacks on higher education in general and Harvard in particular right now. It’s more important than ever that we work together to fight back and protect one another. Below, see four action items—most of them should take no more than 2–3 minutes. These items need your attention TODAY or TOMORROW to help save our funding and our jobs!

Here’s a TL;DR list; see below for more information on each item.

  1. If you’ve been impacted by targeted NIH grant cancellations for reasons other than being at Harvard, fill out this survey TODAY.
  2. If you have questions about the government’s requests for I-9 forms, we have resources you can contact.
  3. You can listen to our bargaining sessions on zoom: RSVP here by tomorrow!
  4. Sign onto this letter spearheaded by Crimson Courage to tell Harvard not to give into the federal government’s demands!

1. TODAY: have you been impacted by NIH grant cancellations unrelated to the mass grant terminations at Harvard?

The UAW is a plaintiff in an ongoing case challenging cancellations of NIH grants and fellowship programs. The court will soon address grant applications that have been administratively withdrawn, delayed, or otherwise left unreviewed as a result of NIH’s unlawful actions. The judge in this case has requested a list of impacted grants. It is possible that an eventual ruling will restore only the grants that have been reported.

  1. Are you an American Public Health Association (APHA) or HAW member?
  2. Did your grant application touch on a disfavored topic (DEI, gender identity, vaccine hesitancy, Covid-19, foreign subawards, influencing public opinion, South Africa, and/or China)
                                            or
    Your application is for a diversity pipeline program (non-exhaustive list: MOSAIC, F31 Diversity, IRACDA, MARC, ARC, IMSD, ReWARD, B-INSPIRE, CPACHE, BRAIN Initiative, Cancer Moonshot Scholars Diversity Program)?

If you are affected by a grant application that meets these criteria, it is vital that you fill out this form by Friday, August 1 at 5pm Eastern Time: https://www.aclu.org/APHAvNIHform.

Lawyers will follow up directly if there are any outstanding questions. Please share this link with impacted colleagues who also meet the above criteria. If you have general questions about the litigation, please contact apha-v-nih-survey@aclu.org.

2. TODAY: Questions about I-9s

Many of you may be concerned about this week’s news that the federal government subpoenaed Harvard workers’ I-9s. We are [closely monitoring this situation/requesting further information on the subpoenaed information from Harvard’s administration/etc.?]. If you have questions about your situation, we strongly encourage you to use the following resources:

  1. In case of an immigration emergency, all Harvard Affiliates can call the Harvard Representation Initiative Emergency Hotline at 857-242-6755.
  2. The UAW has also set up an Immigration Emergency Hotline to quickly refer HAW, HGSU, & HUWU members to legal resources at 888-416-2110.

3. TOMORROW: RVSP for bargaining!

Sign up to attend the next bargaining session on Monday, August 4 from 2–5 pm Eastern Time! Attending either on Zoom or in person shows our strength and helps us win a strong contract.

Sign up at this link before 12 pm Eastern on Sunday, August 3 to attend next week’s bargaining session.

4. TOMORROW: sign on to Crimson Courage’s letter!

You may have heard the rumors that Harvard’s administration is about to make an agreement with the Trump Administration. We strongly oppose any such deal. Harvard has been winning in court—why give in now, especially when the federal government has admitted they’ll cut Harvard’s funding even if its administration agrees to their outrageous demands?

Stand with Harvard affiliates, including thousands of alumni, and sign this letter—spearheaded by the alumni organization Crimson Courage—defending Harvard’s academic freedom and the safety of workers like us!

In solidarity,

HAW-UAW Organizing Committee