Students serving students.
That’s what we do at Associated Students UCLA, the largest student employer on campus. But although ASUCLA may provide many beneficial services to the student body, the organization should not be allowed to compensate student workers inadequately.
Currently, the student workers of ASUCLA are forced to subsidize the programs and services intended for all students by accepting a lower paycheck.
With increasing tuition, textbook costs and the cost of living in Los Angeles, this creates a heavy burden for student workers.
More than just better wages, the student workers of ASUCLA need a voice. Our student union enjoys a high level of student control, with undergraduates and graduates holding seven out of 14 positions on the ASUCLA board of directors. However, because the board is primarily responsible for the fiscal soundness of ASUCLA, it is ill-equipped to deal with the concerns of student workers.
A student worker’s employment experience lies almost entirely in the hands of their managers, who have complete discretion over how to implement the policies suggested in the poorly publicized Student Employment Policies handbook.
As a result, many student workers have found themselves in situations where they could not get the changes needed in their workplace. By gaining union representation, student workers can ensure that their uniquely valuable perspective is reflected in the policies implemented at ASUCLA.
The career workers of ASUCLA, who often work side by side with student workers, have union representation.
As members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, they are able to bargain collectively for their wages, benefits and terms of employment.
The career workers have put their support behind the student-worker campaign because they know that a divided workforce cannot sustain itself.
As long as there is a segment of the workforce that is nonunion, economics will dictate that the nonunion sector will be exploited and expanded at the expense of good union jobs.
As part of the same working unit, the workers of ASUCLA should be part of the same bargaining unit, regardless of student status.
The right to organize is a fundamental right to which student workers are entitled. By empowering ourselves in our workplace, the student workers organizing at ASUCLA hope to be able to work with our student union to make it stronger.
Sia is a third-year mathematics and labor and workplace studies student. He is a member of the Student Worker Front.