Occidental College student workers rally for fair bargaining, better conditions

Student workers at Occidental College who say they’re grappling with low wages, inconsistent hours and job insecurity rallied for better working conditions on Wednesday, March 20, part of a larger campaign to unionize.

Hundreds of teaching assistants, researchers, baristas, tutors, lifeguards and others descended on the campus quad to demand the college agree to a fair process for recognizing their union.

The groups have launched a campaign to unionize with SEIU Local 721.

Olivia Plumb, a sophomore teaching assistant who’s studying biology at Occidental, earns $16.78 hourly in a work-study program that limits her hours to 10 weekly. The wage, the city’s minimum, is rising to $17.28 on July 1.

Plumb lives in a dorm and uses the money for textbooks, groceries and other needs. Despite a good relationship with her supervisor, she feels the school is exploiting students with low wages.

“I’ve talked to others in the work-study program who feel disrespected by their supervisors,” the 20-year-old LA resident said. “As a whole, I feel we’re not being taken seriously by the college.”

Siena Cawrse also lives in a dorm and relies on work-study wages to help pay for textbooks and other essentials. They’re also not getting many work hours.

“I’m only getting 5 hours a week,” the 19-year-old student said. “I’m available, but they’re not scheduling me.”

Cawrse said the work-study pay has made it tough to get by.

“I need to live, and 5 hours is not enough,” they said. “If the pay was higher, I wouldn’t be in such a sticky situation where I feel like I need to save and conserve so much.”

In a statement issued Tuesday, Occidental College said its commitment to equity applies to student employment, as students are offered competitive compensation and appropriate benefits.

“Although the college has not heard directly from students about any specific concerns, we welcome an opportunity to discuss any issues with them,” administration said. “Through this dialogue, we can make meaningful change to further improve student work life.”

The school said it will comply with the National Labor Relations Act but hopes that through discussion of the issues and changes, “students will not find it necessary to engage a union as an intermediary.”

Local 721 is no stranger to bringing college workers into its labor fold — a movement that’s been largely tied to the quest for higher wages.

In June 2023, 31 USC maintenance workers, facilities technicians, painters and customer service representatives seeking better wages and benefits voted to join the union.

At that time, a building maintenance employee at USC started at $23 an hour, while an employee performing the same duties at UCLA earned a minimum hourly wage of $27.44.

USC shuttle drivers and dispatchers voted a month earlier to join Local 721, and graduate student workers at USC voted to join the United Auto Workers union in February 2023.

“Over the past decade, we’ve seen many employees on college campuses join SEIU Local 721 to demand better working conditions — including at USC, Otis, Laguna College of Art and Design and more,” said David Green, Local 721’s president and executive director.

Green expects the trend to continue.

“As a unionized adjunct instructor in the CSU system for more than 10 years, I know that the wave of unionization hitting college campuses will only continue to swell as instructors, staff, and students recognize the benefits of unionizing,” he said.

Last year in Whittier, cafeteria workers, represented by the labor union UniteHere11, left their stations and began picketing to rally for better pay, contributions toward a pension plan, and more employees to help with the workload.