Occidental College student workers have voted to join SEIU Local 721, allowing approximately 1,000 undergraduate workers — baristas, resident advisers, tutors, translators, lifeguards, and researchers among them — to collectively bargain with the private liberal arts college in northeast Los Angeles. SEIU announced the results of the April election on June 12, revealing that 85% of voters chose the union, though it declined to share specific numbers. The election created two new bargaining units, and will make nearly half of the student body into union workers once a contract is signed.
Casey Scott, a rising sophomore whose campus job includes calling alumni to solicit donations, said a raise would help him cover food and incidentals. He also hopes it will make the college “more democratic for student workers who are integral to how campus works,” and help students who depend on their wages for survival.
