California State University student workers file petition to unionize

Undergraduate workers across California State University filed a petition Monday to form a union that would represent more than 10,000 students across the 23-campus system, the Long Beach Post reported.

More than 4,000 student workers have signed union authorization cards and are seeking health care, higher wages, more paid time off and more work hours.

Catherine Hutchinson, president of the California State University Employees Union, said at a news conference Monday that students “work because they have to” and need the money “to support themselves, pay rent, buy food,” the Long Beach Post reported.

“But instead of providing resources to help make the students’ lives easier, the CSU exploits this labor pool because they can,” Hutchinson added.

A spokesperson for CSU, Amy Bentley-Smith, told the Post that CSU recognizes “all workers’ right to organize” and that CSU looks forward to engaging the student workers “in the event student employees are formally recognized by the California Public Employment Relations Board.”