Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 3d

General strike curious? The folks at Labor Notes have created a handy resource about May Day 2028 and the logistics of coordinated strikes and actions, resources for union members who want to move their locals to action:
www.may2028.org

May Day 2028 - MAY 2028

CONTACT US Resource Library Ready to take action? Working towards alignment in your local? We’ve compiled sample resolution language, organizing tips from people who have done it, and other resources....

www.may2028.org

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Reposted by Toby Higbie

Labor Notes @labornotes.bsky.social · 3d

If there’s ever been a time when unprecedented collective action was needed, it’s now. Join the call: www.May2028.org

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 4d

From occupied Chicago: “Worker centers, community groups, unions and informal networks have fanned throughout the city, numerous individuals taking personal risks to their own safety to help defend their neighbors.”

Sarah Lazare @sarahlazare.bsky.social · 4d

If Trump's deportation machine were an army, it would be the 13th largest on earth, ahead of Poland, Canada, Iran. The funding increase kicked in Oct 1, as federal agents unleash violence on the Chicago area, raiding communities and brutalizing protesters. By me & Lindsay Koshgarian, 📷 Steel Brooks.

The 13th Largest Army in World Is Unleashing Violence in Chicago

As federal agents kill and use extreme force in Chicago, their budget surges.

inthesetimes.com

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 9d

Faculty win ruling against Trump violations of free speech on campuses!

Sure would be nice to see universities standing up for their people too. We can dream. We will keep fighting regardless

AAUP @aaup.org · 9d

BREAKING: WE WON!!!
💥 💥 💥

Federal Judge William G. Young ruled today in our lawsuit against the Trump administration that the policy of arresting, detaining, & deporting noncitizen students & faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the 1st Amendment.

Full ruling here:

Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law – #261 in American Association of University Professors v. Rubio (D. Mass., 1:25-cv-10685) – CourtListener.com

Judge William G. Young: ORDER entered. FINDINGS OF FACT AND RULINGS OF LAW, PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 52(A)(Sonnenberg, Elizabeth) (Additional attachment(s) added on 9/30/2025: # 1 Main Document) (J...

www.courtlistener.com

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 10d

Border Patrol top cop explains racial profiling: “‘Then, obviously, the particular characteristics of an individual, how they look. How do they look compared to, say, you?’ he said to the reporter, a tall, middle-aged man of Anglo descent.”

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Feds march into downtown Chicago; top border agent says people are arrested based on ‘how they look’

Immigration agents wearing tactical gear and carrying long guns made arrests in downtown Chicago and the River North neighborhood Sunday. “This is not making anybody safer — it’s a show of intimidatio...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Reposted by Toby Higbie

Stacy Fahrenthold @sfahrenthold.bsky.social · 12d

Every public university in California is now under political attack by the Trump administration. Its time for the regents and @uofcalifornia.bsky.social and @calstate.bsky.social leadership to get real.

Fight back! Your faculty are fighting, why aren't you?

www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...

Trump administration launches probe of alleged antisemitism at CSU system

The Trump administration has launched an investigation into alleged antisemitism at the California State University system and has reached out to CSU faculty about their experiences on campus.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 14d

It’s official! We’re launching the UCLA Department of Labor Studies. After years of building as a small but mighty “program,” Labor Studies has been elevated to departmental status. We’re the first but hopefully not the last of our kind in the UC system.

UCLA IRLE @uclairle.bsky.social · 14d

We are thrilled to announce that UCLA Labor Studies is now officially a department!🎉

The UCLA Labor Studies Department is the first of its kind at the UC

Read more about this historic development here: irle.ucla.edu/2025/09/25/u...

RELEASE– Historic first: UCLA launches Labor Studies Department

UCLA Labor Studies undergraduate major and minor will expand as a new academic department

irle.ucla.edu

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 16d

“In a world where the value of specific skills is increasingly in flux, foundational skills will become even more important.”

Learning how to learn and adapt. The core of a liberal arts degree.

Rob Townsend @rbtownsend.bsky.social · 16d

"The general education course requirements for undergraduate majors convey foundational skills and knowledge across broad fields of study, which in turn prepare students to apply what they’ve learned in a wide variety of contexts." bit.ly/3Ka9WXH

Where There Is Smoke, There Is Likely Fire - CEW Georgetown

For months, the news cycle focused on the plight of recent college graduates and growing fears that entry-level workers are increasingly unable to compete with AI in today’s job market.

bit.ly

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 16d

So true. We could be ramping up counter-cyclical policies, but instead we’re deconstructing all the on-ramps to the future for the next generation 👇

Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 16d

In times of economic insecurity, young adults usually opt for college (or grad school), but with all of the cuts across the country, especially grad programs, paired with student loan cuts, I think we are creating an unusual storm of uncertainty for the next generation.

Chris Levesque @levesque-chris.bsky.social · 16d

Not a good time to be looking for entry-level work.

finance.yahoo.com/news/top-eco...

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 18d

“UC’s senior managers like many of their counterparts, deconstruct their own communities with secrecy, deception, banality, and/or exposure to harm” says @cnewf.bsky.social.

utotherescue.blogspot.com/2025/09/line...

Liner Note 38. The University of California's Charlie Kirk Tribute Act

UC Berkeley on May 29, 2024 I’m opposed to the University of California’s current responses to the Trump Administration’s multiple shaked...

utotherescue.blogspot.com

Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 18d

Maybe legal, but is it ethical? Loyola Marymount U. claims religious exemption, ditches NLRB process and refuses to talk to union of non-tenure faculty. www.latimes.com/business/sto...

Loyola Marymount abruptly rescinds recognition of faculty union, claiming religious exemption

Loyola Marymount University said it could end its engagement with the union by invoking its “constitutionally protected religious exemption” from the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board...

www.latimes.com

Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 18d

Listen to historian @josephamccartin.bsky.social detail the essential role of Jews in the U.S. labor movement, which he had to explain to antiunion members of Congress trying to label contemporary unions with “antisemitism.” laborhistorytoday.podbean.com/e/unmasking-...

Unmasking Anti-union Antisemitism | Labor History Today

This week on Labor History Today, labor historian Joseph McCartin joins Chris Garlock to unpack his recent congressional testimony on unions, antisemitism, and the long fight for solidarity. From the ...

laborhistorytoday.podbean.com

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Reposted by Toby Higbie

LAWCHA: Labor and Working-Class History Association @lawcha.bsky.social · 24d

LAWCHA President @josephamccartin.bsky.social shared more reflections on last week's Unmasking Union Antisemitism hearing on the Labor History Today Podcast.

laborhistorytoday.podbean.com

Labor History Today | laborhistorytoday

Gripping stories of the historic battles for worker rights and how they fuel today’s struggles. Part of the Labor Radio/Podcast Network: #LaborRadioPod

laborhistorytoday.podbean.com

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 20d

It is a big deal! You can follow @uc-faculty.bsky.social for updates and info. And please encourage any faculty you know in the UC system to join their campus faculty association.

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 22d

Look forward to seeing the update! Grad students who have adopted this approach also report it's very helpful.

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 22d

Highly recommend the note-taking advice from @erazlogo.bsky.social. Walks you through using Zotero+Obsidian in the archive. Best I've found for dealing w/ archive-image-overload that is feature of current historical work. #ResearchPractice
publish.obsidian.md/history-note...

01 Notetaking for Historians - Doing History with Zotero and Obsidian - Obsidian Publish

Elena Razlogova History Department, Concordia University, Montreal elena.razlogovaatconcordia.ca zach drawing.png _Welcome to Doing History with Zotero and Obsidian! Learn more about the project, or …

publish.obsidian.md

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 22d

I've moved my note taking into Obsidian over the past 6 months. Bit of a learning curve, but feels like it's helping me track themes and connections better. A cool feature is the graph view of your notes #ResearchPractice

A multi-colored network chart generated from my research notes in Obsidian.

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 23d

Campus solidarity alert: Unions representing more than 100,000 UC employees file lawsuit charging that federal government's demands for money and policy changes violate workers' free speech rights and the separation of federal and state powers.
www.latimes.com/california/s...

UC employees, not waiting on leaders, sue Trump for 'financial coercion' over UCLA cuts

University of California faculty, students and staff on Tuesday sued President Trump over a $1.2-million penalty against UCLA and federal demands over campus changes. They argued that the actions are ...

www.latimes.com

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 24d

"Naming names in a new ideological witch hunt shames the university and undermines its foundations."--UC Berkeley Faculty Association
ucbfa.org/wp-content/u...

ucbfa.org

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · 24d

"Debating model sentience while ignoring the living, breathing people who make these systems run is rank hypocrisy. It’s a PR smoke screen. It’s a rhetorical sleight of hand. It’s the pot-maker calling the kettle a person." www.casilli.fr/2025/09/15/t...

The Rank Hypocrisy of “AI Welfare”: How Silicon Valley Wants to Grant Rights to Machines, but Not to Workers | Antonio A. Casilli

It appears that we have all become the targets of a propaganda campaign lately. Not war criminal governments’ interference, nor far-right parties’ agitprop—though there is plenty of that. I’m talking ...

www.casilli.fr

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · Sep 7

Great conversation about organizing challenges and opportunities in higher education with @higheredlabor.bsky.social. The Trump assault will not only wreck our schools, it will wreck our state and local economies, and many lives. Time to get together and fight back!

Daniel Denvir @danieldenvir.bsky.social · Sep 6

Trump is waging war on higher ed to advance his project to construct a fascist authoritarian regime. Campus workers are uniquely positioned to articulate an alternative vision and wage a united struggle to win it. New Dig w @higheredlabor.bsky.social’s Ian Gavigan www.thedigradio.com/podcast/clas...

Class Struggle for the University w/ Ian Gavigan

Featuring Ian Gavigan on how the bipartisan neoliberalization of higher education laid the groundwork for Trump’s all-out assault. Workers must unite on every campus, articulate an alternative vision for the university, and fight to win it.

www.thedigradio.com

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · Sep 5

“A Benediction for Chicago on the Eve of Occupation” from Dan Sinker.

“There will never be more of them than there are of us.” ✊

dan sinker @dansinker.com · Sep 5

With the Trump Administration about to roll its ugly occupation into Chicago, I wanted to write a little lyrical love letter to the city. dansinker.com/posts/202…

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Reposted by Toby Higbie

Dan Greene @dmgreene.bsky.social · Sep 5

The big workplace raids largely stopped under Bush 2 but they're good for ratings / quotas so they're back

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Sep 5

Law enforcement agents raided a Hyundai factory in Bryan County, Georgia, on Thursday, arresting nearly 500 workers in the largest worksite raid since President Trump retook the White House.

The majority of those arrested are South Korean nationals.

Raid at Hyundai factory in Georgia is Trump administration’s largest yet

Nearly 500 people, the majority from South Korea, were arrested at the Hyundai factory. Officials said the investigation involved allegations of “serious federal crimes.”

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Toby Higbie

The labor librarian @laborlibrarian.bsky.social · Sep 5

An excellent thread on workplace rights and immigration raids.

Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · Sep 5

Arresting 450 people at one worksite seems like legal over-reach, right? Sadly, the Supreme Court ruled back in 1984 that immigration agents could surround a worksite w/ armed guards and question everyone inside without violating 4th amendment rights. 🧵 /1
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/u...

South Koreans Are Among Hundreds Detained in Immigration Raid at Hyundai E.V. Plant

www.nytimes.com

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Toby Higbie @thigbie.bsky.social · Sep 5

You can read the decision, INS v. Delgado caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-sup...

INS v. DELGADO, 466 U.S. 210 (1984) | FindLaw

Case opinion for US Supreme Court INS v. DELGADO. Read the Court's full decision on FindLaw.

caselaw.findlaw.com