Student worker collective bargaining bill advances

Years-long fight to include certain workers at Western in collective bargaining statute inches closer to victory

OLYMPIA, WA (February 26, 2026) — A bill to codify collective bargaining rights for Occupational Student Employees (OSEs) at Western Washington University has cleared another legislative hurdle, advancing out of the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on Tuesday. A priority for labor this session, HB 1570 grants collective bargaining rights to OSEs at Western in line with the rights already available to Education Student Employees at major public universities in Washington.

Senators Saldaña, Alvarado, Conway, Hunt and Stanford voted to advance the legislation. In an update posted to their website, WAWU-UAW Local 4929 celebrated the bill’s progress. “This is great news, and we’re incredibly thankful for the support from our legislators in Olympia, and the hard work of our Community Action and Partnerships Committee, who have been making regular trips to Olympia to meet with legislators on this and other relevant bills.”

Introduced in the 2025 session, the bill originally called for collective bargaing rights to be granted to all OSEs at all public university campuses in Washington, an objective that left the bill with a hefty estimated financial cost from the state’s Office of Financial Management (OFM). In 2026, the bill will have a narrower scope, applying only to OSEs at Western and lowering the bill’s fiscal note.

Members of the WAWU-UAW Community Action & Partnership committee pose for a photo with State Sen. Marcus Riccelli (D-Spokane). Photo: WAWU-UAW

1,100 Operational Student Employees at Western Washington University once again filed to form a union with majority support at the Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) in December, the third time OSEs have reached majority and filed to join WAWU-UAW Local 4929 in the last three years. Despite lacking legal authorization to collectively bargain, OSEs have still been organizing to improve their working conditions. They won significant rights after a strike in June, successfully pressuring university president Sabah Randhawa to agree to seven workplace protections, including pay parity with Educational Student Employees and doubling sick leave accrual. But workers are committed to changing the law so that those gains can be enshrined in a union contract.

In a statement announcing their PERC filing, M Wright, Art Department staff and WAWU-UAW Local 4929 member shared why:

“While OSEs have secured important rights like layoff, increased sick time and a grievance process equivalent to our Educational Student Employee counterparts, this equity is partial,” continued M Wright. “We look forward to finally forming our union, and having a collective say in determining our working conditions.”

HB 1570 will now move to the Senate Committee on Ways & Means, where it is slated to be heard Friday, February 27. Supporters of this legislation can sign-in ‘PRO’ at this link.