On Monday, student assistants petitioning for unionization within the California State University (CSU) system announced that they had met the requirement to move forward with an election to become a part of the California State University Employee Union (CSUEU).
The union election will allow CSU student assistant employees to vote to have a union represent them, according to the email release.
At least 30% of student workers had to sign a petition for a union election to be approved.
“After overcoming every obstacle, the CSU set in our way, more than 8,500 of us signed union cards,” Cal State Los Angeles Student Assistant Diana Perez, wrote in the email. “Last week, the labor board (PERB) finally let us know we have enough cards to have a union election!”
CSU student employees’ campaign to unionize with the CSUEU has been an ongoing effort.
On May 1, student organizers announced that they had begun the process of petitioning to be a part of CSUEU. Student employees hope to have the same benefits that full-time union CSU employees have such as paid time off, paid sick days and reduced parking passes.