On Saturday, September 9, two custodians working during a Beavers game at Oregon State University had their cars towed during a mandatory overtime shift. For over two weeks, the custodians attempted to work with OSU’s HR department to get reimbursed for their tow fees. With little movement coming from HR, members of Local 503 at OSU mobilized and demanded game day parking permits for staff working weekends.

Impacted members began having conversations with workers throughout campus, and discovered that there was no consistent campus-wide policy about weekend work. Some departments were provided with passes exclusively for weekend work, while librarians and custodians—who are regularly scheduled on weekends—were told to use city parking.

On September 22, during their lunch break, over a dozen higher ed members at OSU marched to the Labor Relations Manager’s office with a commonsense demand: all weekend workers should be permitted to park on campus without consequences.

As a result, the custodians whose cars were towed in September will receive full reimbursement for towing fees. Going forward, all OSU staff working on game days will receive parking passes to prevent employees from paying city parking, facing tickets or having their vehicles towed.

By uniting in direct action, OSU custodians have made weekend parking accessible for all OSU workers!