On Oct. 20, Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation and University of Oregon Student Workers gathered in front of Johnson Hall to protest a better work environment. On Oct. 25, UOSW received enough votes to be a certified union, enabling the ability to move forward with the bargaining process with UO. (Coda/Emerald)
The University of Oregon Student Workers have been rallying to gain union certification since Oct. 5, 2022. Today, their time has finally come, as they have tallied enough “yes” votes to secure unionization.
On April 7, the student workers filed their petition for unionization in Salem at the Oregon Employment Relations Board. Since then, they have worked to deepen their understanding of issues within workplaces on campus.
With certification comes the ability to move forward with the bargaining process, which would allow UOSW to bargain with the university for higher pay, bi-weekly pay periods, anti-harassment measures in the workplace and much more.
With almost 4,000 members in total, this certification means that UOSW will be the first and largest “wall-to-wall” student worker union in the nation, which means they are connecting employees across all workplaces on campus, according to a guest viewpoint published in the Daily Emerald on Oct. 5 by David Purucker, who is not an Emerald staff member.
“We won’t be certified until November, but it’s been so surreal to be here,” said Carolyn Roderique, a UOSW organizer.
A similar push for student unionization is the California State University student worker system, which unionizes all CSU campuses. The student workers are still currently working to unionize.
According to the election results, there were over 3,000 eligible voters with 1,055 votes cast for UOSW and 30 votes cast for no representation, according to Roderique –– meaning 97% voted ‘yes’ to form a union.
At 11:59 p.m. last night, Oct. 24, the tallying of the votes concluded and only 50% “yes” votes were needed to secure certification.
Roderique said that UOSW is now looking to win its first “strong” contract with UO, which includes training on bargaining and leadership-building.
Last fall of 2022, the UOSW began their work to unionize with 15 organizers with the mission to connect the different workplaces on campus through unified values. In February 2023, the Emerald released an article on the potential union-busting acts by implementing workers who could not wear union pins. One of their lead organizers, Will Garrahan, was fired from working in the Global Scholars dining hall,and a rally was held to highlight those potential union-busting acts from the university.
Roderique also said UOSW will be consulting with its membership on affiliating with a larger union, and that UOSW is planning to hold a town hall meeting soon to talk about a plan to move forward with the unionization.
“I can’t speak for the other people but there have been many times over the past three years that I wish I had a union,” Roderique said. “More than any specific demand, a union gives us a voice and the ability to meaningfully address and change their [UO’s] workplace.”
[Correction: To avoid reader confusion, this article was updated at 5 p.m. Oct. 25 replacing the phrase ‘sexual harassment’ with ‘anti-harassment measures’.]
