United Campus Workers-CWA Tennessee

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United Campus Workers-CWA Tennessee

Organizing and building power for all Tennessee Higher Education Employees.

Join us to build a movement for social and economic justice on campus and across Tennessee! United Campus Workers - CWA Local 3865 is Tennessee's higher education union for all faculty, staff, and graduate workers in the state. Since 2003, we have been affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, a nationwide union representing over 700,000 members in education, healthcare, public servic

e, communications, airlines and more. UCW-CWA is part of the national AFL-CIO and active in our local Central Labor Councils.

05/26/2026

UTK Workers WIN!
Minimum Wage Increase to $18/hr!

On Tuesday, May 12, the University of Tennessee Knoxville announced the new minimum wage for workers on campus starting July 1 will be set to $18/hr.

“Knoxville was recently identified as the city in this country with the highest gap between wage growth and rising rent costs since 2020…and [UTK] workers are struggling to keep up. I’ve had to move three times in the last eight months because my last landlord doubled my rent in three years, and affordable, stable housing is really that hard to find right now.”

-Staff member at the university

This is a huge win for UCW and everyone who‘s pushed the $20/hr campaign over the last several years through petitions, speaking at board of trustees meetings, and meeting with Chancellor Plowman.

This raise will affect over 400 workers still making under $18/hr, and will impact their lives greatly.

This is a step forward for worker dignity at UTK, yet it’s not a living wage in Knox County. Workers will continue organizing for living wages for ALL campus workers.

05/20/2026

Earlier this month, working people across Tennessee joined together to celebrate May Day. UCW members, politicians, families, and others rallied together with working families to celebrate labor and a better future. Thank you to everyone who attended!

(photos from Knoxville courtesy of Jarius Bush)

05/06/2026

UCW UTK Chapter Endorses Knox County Mayoral Candidate & the current President of the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Central Labor Council, Beau Hawk! We're proud to support Beau, a union member of Ironworkers Local 384, in his run for mayor!

03/19/2026

Join us on Thursday, April 2nd, at 5:30 at Schulz Brau for a Knoxville area UCW social! All friends, family, and coworkers are very welcome!

03/03/2026

The UTK-UCW Faculty Organizing Committee wants to hear about experiences and needs as a faculty member at UTK! Please take a few minutes to answer the questions on this survey. Share with your friends!

tinyurl.com/utkfac26

The Faculty Organizing Committee will meet on March 16 at 6pm at 1415 Elm St to discuss the results and our collective concerns and needs. If you can, join your colleagues for this discussion.

02/24/2026

Look forward to LOBBY DAY! Check the slides for upcoming important dates OR head to linktr.ee/UCWCWATN for the one place for all your lobby day needs.

Join UCW members from across Tennessee to advocate for campus workers' issues in Nashville: fair pay and funding, freedom to teach without censorship, protection for public education and against overreach in our public institutions, and immigrant and civil rights. If you are upset with what is happening nationally and in Tennessee, this is an opportunity to stand with your union colleagues to speak up about issues that matter. We will gather at the state capitol to speak directly with our representatives.

02/20/2026

On Jan. 19 in Knoxville, UCW and community members convened for our 16th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration and Banquet. We celebrated recent campaign wins on campuses and gave out awards of recognition to several members. Our speakers centered our work as campus workers with the economic, racial and social justice of Dr. King's message and work. Our keynote speakers were Dr. Meghan Conley from AKIN (Allies of Knoxville's Immigrant Neighbors) and Trinity Williams (virtually) with Free the 910 in Memphis. It was a heartening, well-attended celebration, and we will carry the momentum of that evening into our work this year!

02/18/2026

REGISTER HERE! linktr.ee/UCWCWATN

Join UCW TN union members from across the state as we meet with politicians and discuss upcoming legislation here in Tennessee!

We'll be joined by TN House Representatives Justin J. Pearson, Aftyn Behn, Sam McKenzie, and Gloria Johnson!

Learn more about bills that will affect your workplace, your family, and your community!

Register at the link below for our zoom meeting on February 24 at 7:30PM ET/6:30PM CT.

LINK: linktr.ee/UCWCWATN

02/13/2026

Join UCW members from across Tennessee to advocate for campus workers' issues in Nashville: fair pay and funding, freedom to teach without censorship, protection for public education and against overreach in our public institutions, and immigrant and civil rights.

If you are upset with what is happening nationally and in Tennessee, this is an opportunity to stand with your union colleagues to speak up about issues that matter. We will gather at the state capitol to speak directly with our representatives.

If you have never spoken to legislators before, please do not worry - we will have a short training before Lobby Day, you will be part of a team with an experienced lead when speaking with the legislators, and UCW will supply talking points.

Light breakfast will be provided in addition to lunch, and carpools/buses will be organized from those coming from outside Nashville.

Sign up at tinyurl.com/UCWLobbyDay26, and share with colleagues! Please contact [email protected] with questions.

02/06/2026

UCW-TN Stands in Solidarity with Minneapolis:

United Campus Workers Tennessee stands in solidarity with workers in Minnesota and joins CWA President Claude Cummings Jr and the AFL-CIO's call for ICE to leave Minnesota immediately and stop terrorizing our communities. This includes here in Tennessee, where Black and brown people, regardless of their documented status, are targets of extreme, violent, and extralegal actions by federal agencies like ICE. ICE has been recently operating in communities around the state of Tennessee, and ICE and the National Guard have been terrorizing the Memphis community in particular. We mourn the death of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a fellow union member of AFGE Local 3669, as well as the deaths of Geraldo Lunas Campos, Keith Porter, Renee Good, and the dozens of others who have died in custody in the last year and those whose names we don't yet know.

We invite UCW members to get involved with your local organizations that support immigration justice and build solidarity with your immigrant coworkers and neighbors.

We invite you to plug into the work of the UCWTN Legislative and Political Actions Committee, where as campus workers we push to improve our campuses and communities through political action. And register for our Lobby Day in Nashville on March 10. If you wish to pay into our Political Action Fund each month, email [email protected]

Solidarity,
The UCW-TN State Steering Committee and
Policy & Campaigns Committee
United Campus Workers - CWA 3821

Address

1415 Elm Street
Knoxville, TN
37921

Telephone

+18653290085

Website

https://www.ucwtn.org/join-us

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