According to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a Worker’s Union is, “an organization formed by workers who join together and use their strength to have a voice in their workplace.” (https://afscmeatwork.org/union-hall/what-union). Unions have been around for years and years and have shown to be a great thing to have as a worker for any company. Being able to step up and have a say in what conditions you deserve to work in is hugely important, so why are On-Campus Employees at Washington Universities just now beginning to unionize?
Despite large organizations, like the United Auto Workers, and pubic displays of workplace unionization, such as the SagAftra Strike, becoming more and more prevalent, unionization is still discouraged all across the US. That being said, it seems that most people, when asked about unionization, have no idea what unionizing can actually do for them.
Having said this let’s go over some things that unionization can help with:
- Give workers a platform to voice their concerns about…
- Fair Wages
- Fair Treatment in the Workplace
- Fair Hours
…and much, much more.
This summer, student workers at Central Washington University decided it was time for a change. The mistreatment, unfair hours and wages, inconsistent communication and overall poor work environments were getting to students who were overworked and under-appreciated. Thus began the start of the Working Wildcats.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz9gCmGPf6x/?img_index=1
In collaboration with the UAW and inspired by Western Washington’s Student Union, the Working Wildcats rose to the occasion, beginning Union Authorization Card Collection as early as October of 2023. The “about us” section of the Working Wildcats website reads, “We are made up of students who work across Central Washington University’s campuses. We came together as student workers from different occupations who felt the need to turn our grievances into a positive outlet. As individuals, we do not have the power to change the working conditions, but as a collective we do. Having a union for us looks like coming together democratically to decide what it is we want to change. Democracy, transparency and group participation are our key values.” (https://www.workingwildcats.org/about)
Since the union’s creation, things have happened to students that are nothing short of a nightmare. In January of 2024, SLICE (Student Leadership, Involvement, and Community Engagement), an office for all things student involvement, faced a tumultuous couple of weeks following the shocking mass layoff of 6 employees, including myself. This came without warning and left some employees with little hope for the sustenance of their living costs and/or careers at CWU. So what did they do? They came together in conjunction with the Working Wildcats and organized a petition explaining what had happened. In addition to this, a letter detailing all of what happened was sent to the Presidents and VPs at the University. The Petition gained 200+ signatures in a matter of days. A week later, their jobs were reinstated and all demands were met. Why? Because this is what happens when student workers come together and fight for proper treatment. This example goes to show how important it is to create a union at Central.
So where is the Union now in February of 2024? Well, the Working Wildcats have faced a bit of a setback. In early January, Senate Bill 5895 for Academic employee bargaining was sent to the labor committee in Washington State. However, despite the massive amount of supporters that logged onto the Washington State Legislature website to sign “pro” on the bill, on February 4th, it was brought to the Organizer’s attention that the bill was not on the schedule for the Ways and Means hearing the next day.
Unfortunately, even after numerous calls and hundreds of emails to each of the Washington Representatives, Working Wildcat’s representatives attended the hearing to no avail. The bill died.
Why did this happen? Because Senator June Robinson thought that the bill was “too expensive.” Providing student employees with resources to speak up about unfair treatment was not important enough to Senator Robinson.
So…where do we go from here? The fight for CWU Student Employees is about to get that much harder. Without a law in place to support us in the fight for unionization, higher-ups at the University will not take us as seriously. Bargaining for our right to have a worker’s union will be difficult, but we will persist. We will continue to fight for the right to unionize.
So, I implore you to reach out to friends, family, and colleagues who are CWU Student Employees and encourage them to sign a Union Authorization Card. If you cannot do that, follow the Working Wildcat Instagram page and contact them through their email found on the Working Wildcat website.
We will be loud. We will be heard.