Over 50 people from around NC State’s campus gathered for a union and worker rights teach-in event on behalf of Jae Edwards on April 9, 2026. The university fired Edwards, the former assistant director of the NC State Pride Center, in part for a hidden camera used by right-wing activist group Accuracy in Media to secretly record him.
Professors Belle Boggs and David Zonderman led the meeting with Braxton Winston II, a long-time union member and president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. Professor Boggs, also the North Carolina chapter president of the American Association of University Professors, opened the teach-in. She discussed the unjust process of Edwards’s firing and how it reflects on other employees at NC State.
“We cannot be afraid of saying things or reading the wrong things or being caught by someone who says they need support but really has a hidden camera,” said Boggs.
Boggs praised Edwards, stating that he fit his occupation to a high degree and that the Board of Governors firing Edwards was a choice and by no means a forced outcome.
Braxton Winston was the second speaker, participating in the teach-in as an experienced union worker serving as an informant. Winston emphasized that few NC State employees were connected to a union at the time of Edwards’s firing, connecting it to the fact that North Carolina the second lowest of all fifty states in terms of union rates.
North Carolina lacks strength in union bargaining, primarily due to NC’s Right to Work laws. These laws prevent union membership from being a mandatory condition of hire, which significantly reduces the bargaining power that unions hold. As a result, less than three percent of all North Carolina salaried workers are connected to a union.
Winston also noted how North Carolina was a primary resistor in adopting Brown v. Board of Education to coincide with their strict Right to Work laws. On the other end, the rise of public sector unions came largely due to bolstered Black support during the call for greater rights in the Civil Rights Movement.
Winston also said North Carolina’s history with race and labor has been particularly tumultuous. “The plight of Black Americans was the start of the labor movement in this country,” said Winston. “In the south, you still have a low union density because in North Carolina, agriculture still makes up the largest part of the state’s economy.”
Professor David Zonderman was the third and final speaker at the teach-in. Zonderman further emphasized the racial dynamic between North Carolina and labor laws, noting the Right to Work supporters’ racial scare tactics to dissuade white workers from joining unions in southern states.
Zonderman also brought more attention to North Carolina’s other primary law suppressing unions, that being the Employment at Will ruling. The law, which Zonderman stated “comes out of master-servant law,” allows for both the employer and employee to terminate employment for any reason excluding demographic discrimination, which can be difficult to prove.
The Employment at Will ruling is a contentious piece in Jae Edwards’ firing, as Edwards’ removal with minimal process after the Accuracy in Media video is a primary source of dissent from voices who disagree with the ruling.
The teach-in concluded with all speakers unionized in their push to rehire Edwards, or at least, see NC State give greater transparency to the process behind his firing.
“It just all happened so fast,” said attendee Elijah Evans when asked how he felt about Edwards’ firing. “It just absolutely wasn’t fair and Jae has had such an impact on the community … I know so many people whose lives were so positively impacted by Jae. I absolutely believe he should be reinstated.”
The campaign to rehire Jae Edwards and resources to help are actively covered on the Instagram page justice4jae.
