Communications team member for ROSE Luca Lennon (junior) said ROSE is looking to earn a union contract and focus on the needs of student workers.
“At the end of the day, a union contract is the only legal way to ensure that the student workers are protected from the actions of the college,” Lennon said.
According to Kahn, Occidental sent the Interim Agreement to the bargaining team May 28. She said the union responded with a counterproposal one month later.
“The parties agreed on most items, except for the expiration […] of the interim agreement and the scope of the ‘no [political] activity’ article on strikes,” Kahn said via email. “Specifically, the union agreed that it would not call a strike but would not agree to language that would prevent students from organizing a strike on their own.”
According to Kahn, Occidental’s reasoning for pausing political activity during the Interim Agreement is to ensure stability within the student work program throughout the negotiation process.
“We view strikes as a negative for everyone,” Kahn said via email. “Oxy proposed an article prohibiting strikes to prevent work stoppages that could destabilize not just student work, but aspects of the academic program, financial aid awards and student life more broadly.”
Lennon said the ability of a union to strike can be one of the most important tools at its disposal. The bargaining committee thought it would be unfair for the union to decide to restrict other student organizations’ ability to participate in demonstrations by agreeing to the Interim Agreement, Lennon said.
According to Kahn, Occidental’s bargaining team believes the proposed Interim Agreement was substantial and would have significantly benefited student workers.
“The College was willing to agree to recognize the union, eliminate the student worker earnings cap, guarantee a minimum number of work hours, convene a committee on social impact issues and provide higher wages for Green Bean workers,” Kahn said via email.
This summer, Telefund and the Occidental College bookstore both underwent notable staffing changes. According to Lennon, the members of the bargaining team believe the college is violating “status quo” by shrinking the student workforce. He said many of the employees at Telefund were unionized, and all its student workers had to find new jobs.
“The ROSE Union filed two unfair labor charges which are actionable under the National Labor Relations Act,” Lennon said. “Essentially, if they are found true by the NLRA board, those actions will get reversed.”
According to Kahn, the union officially withdrew from negotiating the Interim Agreement Aug. 28. Lennon said the union will continue to push toward a different agreement and hopes to have a draft of a contract by the end of the semester. Lennon said the student turnover due to graduation, study abroad and job changes impacted workers’ roles on the bargaining committee. He said this semester will bring more formalized units and clear responsibilities.
“I think right now, we’re trying to rebuild our power as ROSE,” Lennon said. “A lot of the topics [on the bargaining table], if they’re able to be passed, would be instrumental in changing a lot of the lives of student workers.”
Paige Thomas* (junior) was the former bargaining representative for OxyArts and a former student worker at Telefund. She said both programs have seen recent changes that impacted her employment and status with the bargaining unit.
“The overall goal [for the semester] is to get a collective bargaining agreement that serves student workers that puts in protections,” Thomas said.
Kahn said the timeline for the bargaining process has been slow, but Occidental remains committed to coming to a bargaining agreement with the student workers.
“Oxy is motivated to reach an agreement with students as efficiently and collaboratively as possible,” Kahn said via email. “While we are disappointed that the parties weren’t able to complete an interim agreement, our focus is now on reaching a full contract that both parties can view as a success.”
Lennon said an additional goal of the union this semester is to keep all students informed. He said ROSE hopes to create a stronger connection between student workers and the bargaining unit and possibly bring back the “meet your bargaining reps” campaign.
“I hope that as we go into the future, we’re able to highlight how powerful the union can be at achieving the aims of issues that are pressing to student workers,” Lennon said. “The college would not be able to function without student workers. So they’re quite a valuable resource and the college should understand that.”
*Paige Thomas was a Staff Writer at The Occidental.
Contact Quinn Sumerlin at sumerlin@oxy.edu and Abigail Montopoli at montopoli@oxy.edu
