We’re almost there! After a year of organizing, we are at the election stage. In order to get the full rights and powers of a union, we need to get formally recognized by winning a majority of the votes cast in the election. An Oregon government agency called the Oregon Employment Relations Board will email ballots out to student workers via their pdx emails. We will be able to vote starting March 3 and ending March 15.
But I thought I already voted? I already signed something.
You probably signed a Union Authorization Card, which is the first step to getting a union. It’s like a petition to show interest in forming a union. Almost 900 people signed (hell yeah!), so the Employment Relations Board is granting us an election. If we didn’t have that many signatures, we wouldn’t get an election and we would have to start over. So the election is good news and means we are just a few weeks away from getting official recognition!
Who can vote?
PSU provided a list of student workers to the Employment Relations Board; if you had a campus job in 2025 you are probably on that list. The ERB will send an email to everyone on PSU’s list; if you get an email from ERB, you can vote. If you think you should have gotten a ballot and didn’t get one, reach out to us @psustudentworkers and we can direct you to the ERB form to request a ballot.
When and how can I vote?
Voting opens March 3, 2026 and closes March 15, 2026. Voting is via email only, there is no in-person voting. A ballot will be sent to your pdx gmail account. You will need your student ID number to vote.
What does the voting process look like?
Check your email between March 3- March 15 for an email from the “Oregon Employment Relations Board.” The email will include your Elector ID and a password, as well as a link to log in to the voting portal.
This is a sample of the message notification that will arrive to your inbox.
This is a sample of the email that you will receive.
After you open the voting portal, you will be asked for the Elector ID (from the email), a “second secret” (that’s your PSU Student ID number) and the password (also from the email). Once you get in, you will be able to vote YES for the union.
This is a sample of the log-in page.
Our parent union’s official name is SEIU Local 503, OPEU. We are affiliating under the parent union but we will have our own sub-chapter and make our own bylaws, bargain our own contract, and elect our own leaders. Voting for SEIU Local 503, OPEU means voting yes for us to get a student worker union.
This is a sample of the electronic ballot.
Frequently Asked Questions about organizing a union
Is the university organizing this?
No, this is by and for student workers. We are planning to become recognized as a sublocal of SEIU Local 503, so that will be our parent union. But we will have our own sublocal, or chapter, to run ourselves with our own contract and bargaining priorities. The university is not involved. See your rights while organizing a union: Your Rights during Union Organizing | National Labor Relations Board
Is it a secret ballot election?
Yes, your vote is confidential. The election will be run by the Employment Relations Board, a government agency. No one except the ERB election official can see how you voted.
What happens after we vote YES?
The Employee Relations Board will count the ballots after we vote. After a majority of us vote YES, PSU will officially recognize our union. Then we will elect a bargaining team of our co-workers, fill out bargaining surveys, decide collectively what we want to negotiate for in our first union contract, and then bargain a contract with PSU admin that defines the pay, benefits, and working conditions for student workers.
How many other undergrad student worker unions are there?
More all the time! Between 2022 and 2024, 17 undergraduate student unions formed across the US according to the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions (National Center Events and Publications — Hunter College), and more unions are in the process of forming! After the union is recognized, the next step is bargaining for a contract. Student workers who are nominated and elected by peers, along with full time union staff who provide support and training, bargain with the university for a contract that covers wages, benefits, and working conditions.
What are some things that other student worker unions have won?
- Annual raises and tuition assistance
- Free transit passes for workers
- Increased sick leave accrual, paid bereavement leave, time-and-a-half on holidays
- Protections around disability accommodation, gender neutral restrooms, lactation rooms, needed equipment, paid trainings, dependent care
- Worker-management meetings
- Resolution procedures around sexual harassment and workplace discrimination
- Steward program to educate and assist workers in exercising workplace rights
- And more
Western Washington University’s student worker union Western Academic Workers United won undergraduate starting wages of $19 plus additional tuition assistance of $2 per hour worked up to $500 per term, and wages increase for jobs with higher levels of responsibility. See their contract and website here: WAWU: The Union of Student Employees at Western
Dartmouth students who work in dining won $21/hr starting wages plus $5/hour in dining credits that are redeemable for food. On finals week and large school events, they won time-and-a-half pay which would be minimum $31.50/hr plus dining credits. Dartmouth student worker union’s 2023-2025 contract can be found here: Contract 3.19.2023–3.19.2025 — Student Worker Collective at Dartmouth
Other unions are in the process of bargaining a first contract, like student workers in the University of California school system (California State University Employees Union | Home) who voted to join an existing unit of classified staff: CSU student workers overwhelmingly approve new labor union | News Channel 3-12
Union power comes from a majority of workers moving in the same direction – the more of us in communication and moving together, the more we can win.
Will I have to pay dues?
No one pays dues until the first contract goes into effect, and typically a major goal of the first contract is a raise. You get to elect the bargaining team to fight for the contract you want, and you get to vote to accept the contract. Student workers around the U.S. have won raises of $3-5 per hour or more; dues would be around $9 for every $500 you earn (in exact terms, 1.7% of pay + $2.75/month) and do not go into effect until after a contract is approved by vote. Dues are one of the ways we form a strong union with resources. Have questions? Reach out!
How can I get involved?
First, vote YES in the union election, and remind your coworkers to vote YES! Talk about issues that affect you at work and how to address them. You can wear a union T-shirt or post a union sign at your worksite or in your dorm to show your support. If you want to learn more about organizing, reach out!
@psustudentworkers – DM us!
Want to make even more of an impact?
Sign up for an event on the calendar or grab a union t-shirt or sign at the weekly Union Café!
Contact an organizer
Call or text James at 208.870.0435 or email studentunionpdx@gmail.com