{"id":1607389,"date":"2024-04-12T19:40:06","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T19:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/?p=311937"},"modified":"2024-04-12T19:40:06","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T19:40:06","slug":"occidental-college-undergrad-workers-join-the-campus-labor-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/04\/12\/occidental-college-undergrad-workers-join-the-campus-labor-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"Occidental College undergrad workers join the campus labor movement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Occidental College, one of the first liberal arts colleges established in California, presents a portrait of the idyllic all-American collegiate experience that many folks dream about. The small, well-planned campus features a distinctive Beaux-Arts design to its buildings and a tree-lined quad that have been featured in dozens of TV shows and movies over the decades, including Beverly Hills 90210, Clueless, and Jurassic Park III. Just under 2,000 full-time students were officially enrolled at the college in Fall 2022, and it remains one of the few colleges nationwide that focus exclusively on undergraduate education. Their recruitment flyers boast of the \u201cdistinctive interdisciplinary and multicultural focus of the College\u2019s academic program,\u201d which \u201cseeks to foster both the fulfillment of individual aspirations and a deeply rooted commitment to the public good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the school’s buildings, where students flit through the halls and pass through the doors on their way to class, an army of student workers is busy keeping the institution running: they lead tours, work as teaching assistants, maintain the IT systems, assist in labs, file paperwork for various departments, and fill many more auxiliary roles in every corner of the campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the last few years, like so<\/a> many other workers<\/a> across the country<\/a>, student workers at Occidental have found it increasingly hard to make ends meet. The price tag for the premier liberal arts degree that Occidental College offers is $60,000 per year\u2014not including the additional $17,000 required to live on campus\u2014a steep hill to climb for working-class students who are eager to set themselves up for success in their careers. The majority of students, nearly 76% in Fall 2022<\/a>, receive financial aid in order to attend the college. But for most who receive aid, loans and Pell Grants can\u2019t close the gap, forcing them to seek out additional employment on or off campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should undergraduate student workers win their union, there would effectively be wall-to-wall union representation on campus, excluding tenure track faculty.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For student worker-organizers like Noah Weitzner, a junior at the college and media services technician in the IT department, the compensation that he and other student workers receive from Occidental still isn\u2019t enough\u2014and that’s why they made the decision earlier this year to try to form a union of undergraduate workers across campus. \u201cThis effort was born out of an acknowledgment that every worker, or many of the workers on this campus, are not treated with dignity and respect, and are not compensated fairly for the work they do that keeps this $100 million institution running,\u201d he told The Real News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most student workers at Occidental make the state minimum wage, which is $16.78\/hour. \u201cThe college, in their first response to our public launch, said that they offer competitive wages, competitive pay, and that is a blatant factual inaccuracy,\u201d Weitzner continued. \u201cWe are not paid competitively. There are some students making just over minimum wage [and] no one more than 18 bucks an hour.\u201d In Los Angeles, a city where the cost of living<\/a> is unaffordable for all<\/a> but the very top tax bracket<\/a>, this presents a massive problem\u2014one that worker-organizers like Weitzner believe the union will be able to help fix. \u201cIf you look at other schools in the area, you will get UCLA\u2014some of the academic workers were undergraduates who just joined UAW 2865\u2014they\u2019re making over 20 bucks now, right? If you look at Claremont [College],\u2026 they\u2019re making more money than we are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Students
Students sign a placard with worker demands for voluntary recognition at an information table on Occidental College campus, 23 March 2024. Photo by Mel Buer.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

On March 23, 30 or so student workers manned tables set up under a tree in the quad of Occidental College\u2019s picturesque campus. \u201cThis week is about \u2018hearts and minds,\u2019\u201d said Olivia Plumb, teaching assistant in the Biology and Arts departments. After holding intense rallies focused on signing cards the week before, worker-organizers felt the need to set up shop and allow student workers to get to know them and get to know the new union. As students walked past the tables on their way to class, smiling organizers called a few out by name. \u201cGrab a pin!\u201d shouted one sophomore, Chris Cassel, who stood out prominently with his Occidental College sweatshirt and brightly colored hair. The mood was relaxed and joyful as worker-organizers passed out flyers and discussed their demands with curious passersby.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Student
Student worker-organizer Chris Cassel, second from left, stands with student workers at an information table in the quad of Occidental College, 23 March 2024. Photo by Mel Buer.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

When the new student worker union (called Rising Occidental Student Employees, or ROSE) went public, it only took a matter of days for organizers to secure a supermajority of signed union cards. They filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board on March 22<\/a>\u2014the election date has been set for April 30<\/a>, with ballots to be counted on June 12. After years of complaints about the nature of their work, students were ready for a change on campus. In addition to the demand for higher compensation and increased wage caps for work performed at Occidental College, ROSE workers are demanding better work schedules and the flexibility to work more than the 10 hours per week allotted to them by the college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Union organizing is part of Occidental’s campus culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ROSE has been particularly welcome at Occidental College, where three other bargaining units already represent non-tenure track faculty and non-student staff (both with SEIU), and dining services workers (with the Teamsters). Should undergraduate student workers win their union, there would effectively be wall-to-wall union representation on campus, excluding tenure track faculty. In other words, virtually every non-supervisor role on campus would be covered by a union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here at Occidental College in Los Angeles for @TheRealNews<\/a> where student workers have staged a walkout to demand voluntary recognition from the administration after going public with their union drive last week. pic.twitter.com\/EVV9x56Oe0<\/a><\/p>— Mel Buer (@mel_buer) March 28, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>