Evergreen College student service workers on strike

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/Channels/story.aspx?ID=1973109

5/30/2013

By Doug Cunningham

More than fifty student services workers at Evergreen College in Olympia Washington are on strike. The workers allied with the Washington Federation of

State Employees wants pay increases and fundamental union rights, including the right notto be fire unless for just cause. Reaz Mahmoud is a spokesperson for the striking workers.

[Reaz Mahmoud]: “Just to give you some perspective, the average salaries for the people in our unit is what the average worker in the state of Washington was making in 1992. We’ve been fighting for basic workers’ rights and fair compensation for sixteen months and we’ve gone through extended negotiations, now we’re in mediation. And we were making a bit of progress but it’s come to a standstill. So we’re having the strike, even though mediation still continues and we hope that something can be worked out.”

When the strike started Tuesday hundreds of people turned out to support the workers on the picket lines. Some faculty moved their classes from campus to the Washington state labor council in support of the strike.