By AVA FAHY
On Feb. 1, student workers at Smith College continued to make union history. Workers in dining halls, cafes, and catering services voted 66-1 to form United Smith Student Workers (USSW), affiliated with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153.
USSW is the second labor union representing student workers at Smith. Their overwhelmingly successful election follows the recent victory of the Smith College Residence Life (SCRL) Collective. The SCRL Collective, affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1459, won their election with a 94% majority on Dec. 15, 2023.
USSW’s victory is the culmination of over a year’s worth of concentrated organizing. In November, they went public with their intent to file for an election. Soon afterwards, they delivered a petition for voluntary recognition with 272 dining worker votes, a supermajority of Smith’s 400 student dining workers. In their role as employer, Smith College not only declined voluntary representation, they failed to respond to USSW’s petition within NLRB deadlines, failed to post notice of election in several workplaces, and sent out email blasts of misinformation about the implications of a union victory.
“Smith could have voluntarily recognized our union of 400 student dining workers, but instead chose to proceed to an election where only 139 workers were eligible to vote,” said Amelia Wesley, a Smith junior, Chase dining hall worker, and organizer on the organizing committee. “Our union is prepared to fight for all of us to be included in our contract. Solidarity is growing on our campus, and Smith’s union busting only makes our organizing easier.”
Firing back against attempts to delegitimize the union, USSW filed unfair labor practice charges. However, the clearest sign of Smith’s failure was historic victory on Feb.1. Amina Castronovo, a USSW organizer, told us in January that a union win would give her and her union siblings the ability to bargain for higher wages, better workplace safety, and better training procedures. Castronovo also told us that a USSW victory would allow student workers to put greater pressure on their employer in social issues outside of the shop.
Already, USSW organizers observed important similarities between the way that Smith dodged public response to their campaign and recent agitation from Smith’s branch of Students for Justice in Palestine. “They’re technically two different issues,” she said, “but they’re grounded and rooted in the same systematic issues that arise from the way Smith uses its institutional power. We think that if we work together, we can achieve something, hopefully.”
“The union win at Smith highlights a broader trend among our generation and resistance to capitalist, white supremacist oppression,” Castronovo excitedly remarked following the victory. “We are ready to revolutionize our own communities and workforces in solidarity with each other. It’s the only way forward.”