ROSE Bargaining Proposals and Status
Wages
R.O.S.E. has proposed a 4% wage increase across the board for all hourly paid student jobs on campus. We have also proposed an increase for stipended workers like RAs. The increase would cover union dues AND increase pay for student workers after dues.
Oxy has refused to move on wages, refusing to increase even by 1.5% to cover union dues. Their current position would leave Oxy students earning below minimum wage. We will not give in and will not agree to a contract unless they raise wages to increase student wages AND cover union dues.
Solidarity With Full Time Staff
The full time staff, including facilities, janitorial staff, and dining hall staff, are a part of the Teamsters Union. Their union contract states that if student wages go up their wages will also increase.
Despite Oxy's attempts to divide us, we have the support of our full-time staff union as well as the Non-Tenure Track faculty union. Our fight is not just for the improvement of student workers conditions. We stand in solidarity with our staff and faculty in their fight for just work conditions and treatment.
RA Protections
Despite their critical role on campus our Resident Advisors (RAs) have very little job protections and are made to work unpaid trainings, are subject to unjust firings, and are requiered to put in the work of a full time job for very little pay.
ROSE has proposed protections for our RAs from unjust firing as well as an increase in pay (the stipend they are paid for the role).
End to the Earnings Cap
We week to eliminate Oxys unfair policy of the "earnings cap" which limits how much money students can earn from working on campus (across any and all jobs they might have) within a given academic year. This cap is set at $5,360 an amount barely over the typical federal grant for work study. This earnings cap limits students in a way that will cause them to seek out off campus jobs due to financial insecurity. The cost of living in Los Angeles and the cost of occidental college tuition makes this amount laughable and insulting to student workers.
ROSE is fighting for the complete elimination of the earnings cap. Currently the college is moving on this issue and has altered the cap to a 20 hours a week work cap with no explicit cap on earnings. This is double what the earnings cap would have previously allowed and is a huge win for the union. BUT we can go further!
Common Good Proposals
Common good proposals focus on larger issues related to the 'common good'. These issues are relevtively workplace related but are more widely applicable and often in line withoutside organizing or causes.
Tuition Freeze
Unlike a typical tuition freeze, which places the sticker price of tuition for a college on freeze as a whole, the tution freeze proposed to Oxy by ROSE is on an individual basis. Our tutition freeze proposal asks that Oxy students tuition be capped at whatever they paid to enter Oxy. Meaning that you can not be charged more for tuition in any other year that you were charged for Freshman year.
This comes in response to multiple students being 'priced out'. With the schools tuition increasing so rapidly, many students on campus have had to drop out or transfer due to the cost of attendance. We seek to ensure that all students are able to continue at Oxy for their full 4 years without being priced out by the college.
Accessible Campus
ROSE, in partnership with DSU, is able to fight for an accessible campus through the contract. Though the school claims to be centering minority and underpresented students, the school has no tangible impacts to back up this. The contract has the ability to codify past, present and future wins into law so that the school can no longer roll back or ignore the statements they have made.
Sanctuary Campus From ICE
In bargaining ROSE asked Oxy to official commit to providing students with a sanctuary campus from ICE. This would protect at risk and international students from the treat of ICE detentions and abuse. The school refused to agree.
Oxy claims that it has taken measures to protect students on campus from ICE but these have been nothing more than small and ineffective tactics for appearences rather than actions with the express goal of protecting students.
Ethical Investment
The school has already dedicated itself to divest from fossil fuels. winning this proposal in the union contract would require Oxy to stick to its claim by law.
If Oxy planned on following through with their climate justice and sustainability promises they would have no difficulty committing to this in the contract. The fact that they have denied our requests to put this divestment in writing under a legally binding document.
Free Speech
In recent years, since spring 2024, the Occidental Student Code of Conduct has seen a multitude of updates. Specifically, these updates have targeted and changed the language within the Student Speech and Dissent Policy. Updates to this policy have consistently added more rules to the nature and ability to protest on campus, thus limiting students ability to make our voice heard in many ways.
We hope to put a student voice into the process of creating the code of conduct and to be able to give students a rightful due process when conduct violations occur. We hope to push Oxy to no longer continue adding to and remove items in this policy that restrain students ability to make their voices heard at risk of retribution.
Oxy's Unfair Labor Practices
Student Conduct Charges For Union Related Actions
Recently two student workers were disciplined for their use of a megaphone at a union sanctioned action. A clear violation of worker's union rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
Disbanding of Telefund
Following the conclusion of the 2024/2025 academic year, the student employment opportunity and telephone fundraising worksite, otherwise known as Telefund, was disbanded by the college. This left many student workers without work and was a clear violation of the status quo agreement while out of contract.
Mistreatment of Student Workers
Student workers, especially within the Residential Assistant position, have be consistently mistreated and harassed by management. A violation of not only their civil liberties but also their rights as union employees.