HOW TO SUPPORT THE CAUSE AS STAFF
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We are asking you to support the strike by signing your name to the Letter of Support below.
AFSCME 1072 officially stands with students striking for climate action.
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If you're able to strike with us in addition to adding your name to this letter, we'd love for you to join us! Nonetheless, we recognize that the ability to strike is a privilege not everyone has. Even if you can't strike, you have the opportunity to express your support for the global movement of ambitious and timely climate action. Here are other ways you can be involved!
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Encourage people who can strike to do so.
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Share your support for the strike on social media to let your community know you want a safe climate in years to come!
Staff Letter
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We, the staff of the University of Maryland, College Park, stand in support of UMD climate strikers. As community members who share spaces with students and young people every day, we understand that the fight for a livable world is one we all share.
Climate change is already having harmful effects on workers here at UMD. Those of us who work outdoors will face increasingly unbearable weather conditions, including extreme heat, humidity and storms. The mold in residence halls, resulting from record-high rainfall and humidity last summer, damaged the health of the housekeepers who had to clean it without proper protection, equipment, or training. As public budgets are forced towards spending on climate change mitigation and adaptation, public-sector workers will be under threat of budget cuts as politicians push for austerity.
We demand that the University of Maryland accelerate its action to combat climate change. The University must invest in fossil-free energy, divest our holdings from the destructive fossil fuel industry, and commit to educating current and future students on environmental sustainability. Our full list of demands is located here.
The global student strike movement and the Green New Deal represent new frameworks for how we fight climate change together. Young people understand that workers and vulnerable communities will bear the costs if we do not do everything we can today to move towards a carbon-neutral economy. We all breathe the same air, drink the same water, share the same Earth, and we are all part of the movement for a livable future.