By EZEKIEL KINGSBURY and JAZMIN GOMEZ
CORRECTION: The original article said that RAs and OLs’ signatures were not necessary for union recognition. RAs and OLs are, in fact, defined as student workers and are worthy signatories. (Sunday, April 7, 2025, 5:00 p.m.)
On Thursday, March 20, Beloit College agreed to voluntary recognition of Beloit Student Workers United (BSWU) so long as a majority of student workers sign with the union.
Tim Leslie, Vice President of Career and Professional Development, says “We are really proud of the students who identified concerns about student work and decided to take action. They have worked hard to organize and made impressive progress. While we believe that student work concerns could be addressed more efficiently and effectively via a student work committee of faculty, staff, and students, which we incorporate into the APM, we also are happy to work with students if they form a union.”
This came after weeks of stalemate, as BSWU organizers Jake Fein’27 and Ela Heywood’26 were unable to find a compromise with the administrators present.
BSWU demanded that the administration sign a ‘neutrality agreement,’ which dictated certain rules for discussion and behavior within and outside of meetings before conversations began. The neutrality agreement, copied in large part from Grinnell College’s, set rules that prevented administrators from engaging in any efforts to influence students around Union formation, including but not limited to speeches, one-on-one meetings, distribution of literature, or other activities intended to influence the free choice of the covered employees.
As administrators were concerned about the contents of the agreement (particularly the lack of concessions), little progress was made. According to Fein, BSWU encouraged administrators to make comments on the agreement and come to a compromise, but “To this day they have left no comments.” However, the administration maintains they did provide comments on the document.
Another point at issue was that administrators wanted to address certain concerns, particularly the accusation that student workers have been subjected to discriminatory supervision practices, but BSWU organizers were unwilling to discuss such issues before the agreement was signed.
In response, the administration proposed the creation of a Student Work Committee, made up of students, faculty, and staff, that would meet separately from the Union. The Student Work Committee will be voted on by faculty during an upcoming meeting. Fein and Heywood had no objections to the creation of this committee.
Administrators and organizers also disagreed over the definition of ‘student worker.’ Under Heywood and Fein’s definition, “anyone who is actively enrolled in the college part-time or full-time and is currently employed by the college,” roughly 350 current students qualified as student workers. Under the administration’s definition, up to 950 students qualified. According to Fein, the College argued that as anybody can become a student worker, BSWU’s definition would be unfair to people who want to become a student worker eventually. Fein interpreted this as an attempt to block the formation of the union, citing it as one of “the most common union-busting tactics on college campuses.”
What eventually fostered common ground was Fein and Heywood’s admission of their reluctance to go to the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday. In this current presidential administration, they told Beloit College, they were concerned such a petition would not just be rejected, but place all student unions under the heavy supervision of the federal government, potentially removing student unions altogether.
Administration, in what has been described as a “heart-to-heart,” appreciated the admission. From this point, the parties were able to agree on a definition of ‘student worker’: Any student who has been employed by the College in the past fiscal year. Altogether, this includes almost 600 students.
While the administration still has concerns about the democratic process of union registration (a lack of information given to signatories and undue social pressure), they have agreed that once the union achieves a majority signature by the body of student workers, they will be recognized. This will involve signing a modified agreement by Wednesday, at the latest.
In the BSWU GroupMe, Fein told the signatories that they were successful in this meeting due to the “pressure of a possible protest,” which was called off. Administration contests this characterization.
As for their plans? Fein and Heywood shared with the Round Table that among their top priorities once the union is recognized are “Increased transparency around job descriptions, more supervisor training, a student worker employee handbook that lays out the firing process and gets rid of at-will firing, creating an appeal process for if someone is fired.”
BSWU claims “There are certain supervisors across campus who have been discriminatory in their treatment of student workers,” and they aim to change this. Administration has found no evidence of discriminatory practices or supervisory practices that jeopardize the psychological or physical well-being of student workers.
To ensure broad representation and avoid hierarchical structures, Fein and Heywood plan to establish a 30-person leadership team. Their preliminary constitution (described as a “very rough draft,” meaning none of its stipulations are necessarily representative of the future of BSWU), outlines a strike policy, potential compensation for leadership through non-mandatory dues, and grievance procedures. BSWU also indicated openness to affiliating with a national organization if student workers express interest in such an arrangement.
Featured image: Ezekiel Kingsbury’25
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