On April 28, student workers’ picket line chants reverberated across campus. The traffic in dining halls slowed to a trickle, and some establishments shut their doors due to a lack of workers.
These are the effects of the University of Oregon Student Worker strike, in which unionized student workers have ceased their labor until the administration meets their demands.
As a student who works outside the university, I am not a member of the UOSW, but I stood in full support of their mission for fair pay and better working conditions.
However, in my discussions with student workers, I realized that many did not participate in the strike.
Some, such as UO sophomore and Science Store employee Zadie Niedergang, refrained due to ideological opposition.
“I agree with the strike in many ways, but I’m not striking because of personal disagreements with the union,” Niedergang said. “I looked through the union’s list of demands, and I disagree with some things that they weren’t willing to budge on, such as asking for more political expression rights at work.”
Others were prevented from striking due to unseen barriers, especially Resident Assistants, who risk basic needs by being on the picket lines.
UO Housing is charging striking RAs the standard rate for their dorms, which they currently receive as compensation for their services. This is deemed a form of retaliation by UOSW.
Additionally, the strike fund won’t cover the cost of dorms and meal plans.
“I can’t afford the cost of my room and meal plan, and I don’t have a place to stay if I vacate, so I decided not to strike,” Ella Kuhn, a UOSW member and RA, said. “My building’s union rep said the union will cover the costs, but I haven’t seen any official claims of this despite asking several times.”
This restriction is especially harmful because RAs are one of the groups who most desperately need an improved contract. The 2026-27 change to the RA role will split the position into Community Builders and On-Call RAs, with only 50-75% of housing costs covered. This change would be devastating for many RAs, who only work such a high-demand job for the fully-covered food and housing.
Student workers in UO research labs also frequently crossed the picket line, but for a very different reason.
I met with one undergraduate researcher, who asked to remain unidentified due to fear of retaliation from professors and employers, to learn why they continued working.
“Our professors are unwilling to support us if we strike, so lots of students who would otherwise support the strike are forced to keep working,” the student researcher said.
Most chillingly, however, many international student workers won’t strike for fear of retaliation — or deportation — by the federal government.
This student said that while they had participated in protests in the past, they became concerned for their safety after witnessing international students such as Mahmoud Khalil get detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for protesting or organizing.
“I totally support my friends who are striking, but as an international student, I’m a minority here,” one international student worker, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said. “If the worst case scenario happened, I’d get deported, couldn’t graduate as planned and I might not be able to immigrate here in the future. Every decision I make, I have to think twice.”
To quote the famous labor chant, “the people united will never be defeated.” But what happens when UO administration and the federal government foster division between RAs and hourly workers, citizens and international students? What happens when striking could cost someone their housing, their graduation or their residency?
A threat to any student worker on campus is a threat to all, as it weakens their collective bargaining power. As students, we must advocate for our peers’ causes as our own and strive for unity in an atmosphere that seeks to divide us.
