Cal State University student workers voting to form a union
SAN JOSE, Calif. - On Thursday, thousands of student workers in the California State University system began casting votes to form a state-wide union.
Students say the jobs they work often pay less than off-campus jobs, and they need the money to make ends meet.
Just this week, Cal State University reached a new agreement with the California Faculty Association. Now, students say they want to have the same bargaining power as teachers and other workers on campus.
"I think it’s really important for students to have a body that can speak for them," said Albert Wang, a student at San Jose State University.
Over 17,000 student workers will decide whether to form a union over the next month. Students have until mid-February to cast their vote.
"With me, or a lot of students working office jobs, I think just even making like $1.50 more an hour could make a huge difference," said Emilio Carrasco, Fresno State student assistant and union organizer.
Carrasco says many students work on campus because they don’t have transportation to get to an off-campus job. He says students are allowed to work up to 20 hours per week, at minimum wage with no sick pay, and the rising cost of living and tuition is impacting student success.
"If we’re able to extend the amount of hours we’re able to work, that could be the difference between a student having to work two jobs or just their one student assistant job," said Carrasco.
California State University reaches agreement with faculty union after workers went on strike
In a late development on Monday, California State University announced they reached a tentative agreement with the faculty union after workers went on strike that same day.
While unionizing on college campuses isn’t a new concept, a local U.S. labor expert says unions are growing in popularity right now and members believe unions help to improve their quality of life.
"As more and more workers belong to unions, that empowers ordinary people who are otherwise left out of the political process. That has always resulted in significant improvements in various issues that affect us in the country," said Robert Ovetz, San Jose State University political science professor.
CSU released this statement:
"The CSU acknowledges workers’ rights to organize, including student assistants, and is committed to following the state’s collective bargaining laws and regulations governing union representation. Should student assistants elect to unionize, CSU looks forward to engaging with them as we do with our other union partners." -