Dive Summary:
- Evergreen State College student services employees went on strike Tuesday after contract negotiations with administrators fell through over pay and firing procedures.
- Picket lines were formed at 12 locations on the Olympia, Wash. college's campus by the 57 student services employees, plus hundreds of supporters from the state employees union, Evergreen faculty union and on-campus student organizations.
- The decision to strike came as a surprise to Evergreen President Les Purce, who said in a written statement that the union was given just cause protections and raises comparable to those of other faculty unions, but bargaining unit member Courtney Bailey says the union wants independent reviews of disciplinary and firing decisions and annual step pay increases.
From the article:
... Greg Devereux, executive director of the Washington Federation of State Employees, said that it is likely that the student services employees will continue to strike throughout the week — though that may not mean a repeat of Tuesday’s picket lines.
“I don’t know whether it will be in this form, but there will be numerous actions this week,” Devereux said. “We’re going to decide day-to-day.” ...