By Alivia Renteria and Keegan DeWitt
On Tuesday, Sept. 1, Beloit Student Workers United held an informational event in the Weissberg Auditorium. There was a large turnout, with student workers drawn in by curiosity about the people representing them and the promise of free merchandise and pizza.
The goal for the event was to “welcome student workers to the new year and to set the tone for the next year,” according to Jake Fein’27, BSWU’s external organizing lead. “We had ~100 people participate in our event, and while numbers are great, engagement and enthusiasm of those in attendance were what we would really call success.”
Working alongside Fein in BSWU’s leadership are internal organizing lead Thomas Flemming’27, events lead Lia Dirks’27, art and social lead Sam McCullough’29 and co-steward leaders Demir Kasapoglu’28 and Palash Mamtaney’28. This small group of people is responsible for making this event, and the existence of the union itself, possible.
Speeches at this event were provided not only by those in the student union’s leadership, but also by State Representative Clinton M. Anderson, President of the South Central Federation of Labor Kevin Gundlach, and Vice President of the Chicago Midwest Regional Joint Board Carlos Ginard. The event honored the student union’s entry into the larger Workers United union, which represents tens of thousands of workers across Canada and America. This celebration follows the ratification of BSWU into the Workers United union, which was officially announced via Instagram on June 9.
Representative Anderson shared how happy he felt to have the support of Beloit’s students for himself and the workers’ union as a whole. He stated how he plans to support the college’s workers and, in turn, expects workers at the college to be there for their parent union during times of negotiation and protest.
Kevin Gundlach gave a speech that shed light on a fraction of the history of union organizing and led the audience in a call-and-response of union chants originating from past strikes and protests, including some from the Amazon and Starbucks worker strikes in recent years. For example, he would call out, “What’s disgusting?” The crowd would then respond, “Union busting!”
Carlos Ginard began his presentation by recognizing and welcoming BSWU to Workers United, then discussed what the Joint Board does and the kinds of work settings they have advocated for in the past.
According to the Workers United website, “the Joint Board today supports organizing across diverse industries—including distribution, non-profits, gyms, food service, hospitality, manufacturing, and retail. With a deep commitment to racial and economic justice, the union empowers workers to build collective power, win strong contracts, and transform their workplaces and communities.”
With the addition of Beloit Student Workers United to the Chicago Midwest Regional Joint Board, the college will be another workplace that the Joint Board promises to advocate for in their collective bargaining. During the event, students were encouraged to sign up for a union card to gain the full benefits allotted to members of the parent union.
Beloit College Student Workers United is now identifiable by the local number 416. During their speech, Jake Fein’27 explained that the local number is in reference to the date that BSWU was officially recognized by Beloit College — April 16, 2025.
The student union has four main value statements: solidarity, principles of solidarity and justice, independence, and non-exclusionism. The union emphasizes that solidarity does not mean charity; charity promotes a hierarchical system, whereas solidarity allows all workers to support one another with mutual benefit and aid. Independence means that BSWU is not associated with any outside entity; it is not affiliated with any other organization, nor does it work for or receive funding from Beloit College. Non-exclusionism grants workers the freedom to express differing opinions, while still keeping respect towards their peers, Beloit College, and other organizations.
BSWU is just one of the about 40 majority undergraduate labor unions throughout the country, and it is the only undergraduate labor union in Wisconsin. Out of all the undergraduate unions in the country, BSWU is the seventh to provide wall-to-wall coverage, meaning all student workers are protected under the union. It is the fourth wall-to-wall undergraduate union that has won a contract with an institution, and the second to do that with a private institution. As of Sept. 2026, they are still the first and only wall-to-wall undergraduate union to be voluntarily recognized by an institution.
Beloit Student Workers United established their contract with Beloit College in 2025, with the current contract being in effect from Sept. 8, 2025 until Aug. 20, 2027. Because of this contract, student workers have received an approximately 29% hourly pay increase over the two years it has been implemented.
When asked how they felt about the impact of the event on the student body, Jake Fein’27 said, “From talking to fellow attendees, to call-and-response, we couldn’t be happier with the tone this event set for the union going into our contract negotiation year.”
Featured image: Sam McCullough’29
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