Last week, a petition from Berea College students looking to take a vote to form a labor union was withdrawn from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Students announced their intentions to organize a union last spring, alongside the Communications Workers of America. If the federal board approved, students would have been allowed to take a vote on whether a union would be allowed on campus.
Berea is a Work College, which means students are required to work 10 hours on campus each week as part of their service-based curriculum.
Union supporters said they were concerned with issues like better workplace safety, higher wages and a formal grievance system.
Those opposed said a union was incompatible with Berea’s education model, and that students can’t be recognized as workers.
A statement from the United Student Workers of Berea says they withdrew the petition out of concern that more conservative judges appointed by the Trump administration would rule against it.
The group says there was also concern an unfavorable legal argument could be used to rule against other labor movements.
“...we are now uncertain if we can prevail before the NLRB, and ultimately on appeal in the federal courts, on the question of whether Berea student workers are ‘employees’ as defined by federal labor law,” the statement reads.
That follows similar decisions from other student groups across the country to withdraw their petitions, like the men’s basketball team at Dartmouth University.
A statement last week from college president Cheryl Nixon says the organizing was a clear call for change on campus. She says she’ll speak with students on how to make those changes both immediately and in the long term.
The campus workers’ statement says some students involved with the petition plan to continue organizing in the meantime.
Berea College is a financial supporter of WEKU.
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