BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Student workers at Western Washington University have announced a hard deadline ahead of their potential return to the picket line.

The bargaining committee for Western’s Operational Student Employees, or OSEs, says it’s giving the university two days to make meaningful progress on negotiations.

If the union decides that the progress isn’t sufficient, the OSEs will resume their strike on Monday, June 9.

The announcement comes after the bargaining committee says it had its “most productive meeting ever” with Western administration on Monday, June 2.

But the university is still refusing the committee’s central request to voluntarily recognize the union of OSEs.

Western President Sabah Randhawa has previously stated that state law doesn’t extend collective bargaining rights to student workers.

The OSEs plan to meet on Wednesday to determine whether enough progress has been made.

The university has not yet responded to the deadline announcement.