Student Workers Go On Strike at the University of Oregon

Thousands of undergraduate student workers at the University of Oregon will strike on Monday.

The University of Oregon Student Workers Union declared its intent to strike weeks ago as it bargained with the Eugene university over student pay, the worker grievance process and the employee pay cycle. The student union and university negotiated through the weekend, but had not reached an agreement as of Sunday evening, the university said.

The union was formed just a few years ago and represents roughly 4,000 students who work as resident assistants, dining hall workers, memorial union employees and more. When it was formed, University of Oregon students believed it was the largest majority undergraduate student worker union in the country.

Pay remains a key sticking point between the students and university as the two sides work out a contract.

The average student salary at the university is $15.34 an hour, spokesperson Angela Seydel said. The lowest pay starts at $14.70 and the highest positions start at $18.

In a news release on Sunday night, student worker representatives said they want a minimum pay of at least $18.50 an hour.

“Student workers are disproportionately first-generation college students and from lower-income families,” student union bargaining co-chair Victoria Piñeiro said in a statement. “The reason taxpayers support public universities is so that middle-class and working-class students can get an education – not just those from rich families. But UO is making it impossible for us to work our way through college.”