BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Student workers at Western Washington University (WWU) have reached an agreement with the school to end their strike.
The union of Operational Student Employees, or OSEs, called Thursday’s agreement an “unprecedented” step for non-educational student employees across the state.
The changes include new layoff protections, increased sick time, bereavement leave, wage adjustments to match educational student employees and mental health support. Any alleged violation of the new policies will be settled by a third-party arbitrator at the university’s expense.
The university did not agree to the OSEs’ primary request to voluntarily recognize their union.
But WWU President Sabah Randhawa said in a statement that the school will remain committed to helping OSEs gain formal bargaining rights in the upcoming legislative session.
Western’s OSEs are made up of roughly 1,200 laborers, lifeguards, resident advisors and other student workers in non-academic positions.
Their strike lasted five days in total.
