Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Who can join the union?

Everyone who works or has worked in higher education in Arizona can join the United Campus Workers of Arizona, CWA Local 7065. That includes faculty, staff, student workers, and students. We currently have four chapters across the state of Arizona at:

• Arizona State University (ASU)
• Northern Arizona University (NAU)
• University of Arizona (UA)
• Maricopa County Community Colleges District (MCCCD)

We unite faculty, staff, and students wall-to-wall across Arizona to build the strongest possible grassroots organization. 

Not sure if you're eligible to join? Reach out to us at [email protected].

Why do we need a union?

We owe our current working conditions - the five day workweek, eight hour work day, and even the minimum wage - to labor organizing movements over the few hundred years. Generations of workers organizing have laid the foundations for the worklife benefits we enjoy today. 

Yet still bosses exploit our labor. Can you think of a time when you were asked to work overtime for no extra pay? Or when a boss asked you to do something outside of your contract? Or when a boss promised you a pay raise that never came?

By joining labor unions, we defend ourselves against pay cuts and lay-offs, health risks in the workplace, changes in the terms of our contracts, and the privatization of our higher education institutions. In our local, we have fought against administrators who ignore our voices and harm our students, employees, and communities. Together, we build power and resources to sustain our movement for justice for higher education into the future.

Further reading on labor unions:

• The History Channel provides a brief history of post-industrial labor organizing in the United States here.
• The Economic Policy Institute posted a report in 2025 on the wealth of positive impacts a union has on workers and communities available here.
• The Library of Congress provides a list of resources for in-depth research on labor organizing in the United States here.

What is "wall-to-wall"? How does it work?

A wall-to-wall union means all university and higher education employees, regardless of job title, unite to make our institutions a better place to work, to educate, and to learn. The Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee describes wall-to-wall as,

“Wall-to-wall” organizing, which grew out of organizing in the 1940s, is an attempt to organize every worker in a workplace, regardless of their job. Organizers seek to actively empower bargaining units, especially within university and school systems, without exclusion of any staff within the sector. It also helps unify a wide array of worker bases and increases bargaining power through higher pay and better benefits.

We build unity on the issues we all share. We have standing committees for our major employee groups, like contingent faculty, different staff groups, and graduate student workers as a way to address our job-specific concerns. Together we will democratically decide how our future elected leadership will be structured in order to make sure everyone is represented.

Why do I have to pay dues, and how much are they?

Dues support the operational expenses of our organization including resources, training, communications, lobbying and legal services, and more. Dues pay for our organization. The more members we have, the stronger our union. Dues cannot be spent on candidates or direct electoral work; we have a separate political action fund (PAF) for that purpose.

Our dues are on a sliding scale, depending on your income. 

Are dues too much of a strain on your monthly budget? We have a solidarity fund that members contribute extra to each month to support folks who want to join but can't afford dues - don't let money stand in the way of building collective power. Reach out to us at [email protected] with "Solidarity Fund Request" in the subject line.

Organizing in Arizona

Isn't Arizona a "right-to-work" state? Is it even legal to unionize?

Yes, Arizona is a right to work state. In writing, right to work legislation means that employees are not required to join a union in order to be hired at - or not be fired from - their job. In practice, right to work legislation weakens the power of unions and collective bargaining. 

However, you do have the right to join a union if you so choose.

What's the point of unionizing without collective bargaining or a contract?

Gaining the right to collectively bargain (to have a contract with our higher ed institutions) would require changing state law. This makes our union a "direct-join", "pre-majority" union. The Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee defines pre-majority unionism as,

Pre-majority unionism means workers organizing and acting like a union even in circumstances where they do not have a contract or where winning a contract does not seem to be a realistic near-term prospect. It’s about being a union in all the other ways traditional unions are, whether or not the boss recognizes that union as a legal entity it’s required to bargain with.

That said, collective bargaining is only one tool in the labor movement toolbox. Many workers, like public workers in many places, farm workers, and others, organize without legal collective bargaining. How? Through a combination of organizing, mobilizing and community and political action. Together, we build power to influence policies and how decisions are made within our universities and higher ed institutions.

Does the Arizona Board of Regents recognize workers’ rights to join a union?

The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) is the governing body of Arizona's three public universities: ASU, NAU, and U of A. 

ABOR nor does either of our three universities oppose membership in labor organizations by employees, but views such membership as a right that in no way affects employment. According to section 6-906 of ABOR's policy, union recognition at ASU, NAU, and U of A is as follows,

The Board does not oppose labor organization membership of employees as such membership is their right and in no way affects their employment relationship, but the Board, as a public employer functioning under the provisions of A.R.S. § 15-1626, does not have legal authority to recognize a labor organization as the employees' agent for purposes of collective bargaining. In addition, neither the Board nor the universities shall engage in "meet and confer" activities.

However, under the provisions of Arizona Revised Statutes 15-1626, ABOR claims it does not have legal authority to recognize a labor organization as an employee's agent for purposes of collective bargaining.

Does the Maricopa Governing Board recognize workers’ rights to join a union?

Currently, the Maricopa County Community Colleges District's Governing Board has no mention of labor unions in their board policies.

Membership Questions

How can I join?

You can join with a phone or computer by navigating to our UCWArizona.org/join page and selecting either "join with bank draft contributions" or "join with credit card contributions". After joining, you'll receive a welcome email with information about your union and next steps.

Ready to join? Click the button below!

Will my boss find out if I join?

No one will know you have joined our union except our organizing team once we process your application. No one will tell your boss you’re in our union. It is entirely your decision whether you wish to be a public member of our union.

That said, you can’t build a strong union in secret; our movement will need as many folks as possible to be confidently public in their support of our union over time. However, we have a lot of work to do to build towards having enough power and support so that you and your peers can be public in a safe and effective way that benefits the organizing campaign, not harms it. 

What is the structure of UCWAZ?

Our direct-join union consists of an executive leadership elected by our members each year, standing committees and working groups responsible for managing specific roles and tasks within the organization, paid staff organizers, general members, and community supporters.

Members and community supporters are encouraged to join committees whose work interests them! A full list of committees and working groups and how to get involved will be provided as part of your onboarding.

United Campus Workers are a series of locals in Arizona, Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin, all part of the CWA’s Public, Healthcare & Education Workers (PHEW) unit of more than 140,000+ public sector workers across the country. 

I'm not eligible to join - can I still support the union with my time or a donation?

Yes you can! Anyone interested in supporting our union who is not currently employed at a higher ed institution in Arizona can join as a "non-votign community supporter". This way, you can support financially and stay involved with our internal organizing.

To join as a non-voting community supporter, navigate to UCWArizona.org/join and select either "join with bank draft contributions" or "join with credit card contributions". On the next page, you'll be able to select "non-voting community supporter" under the "Employment Information" section.

Have a question we didn't answer above?

You can reach out to us at [email protected] and we will make sure your question gets connected to someone who can provide the answers you're looking for.