Fight for workers’ rights valuable

Students across the nation joined with other allies on and off
campus to participate in the Student Labor Action Project’s
National Student Labor Week of Action from March 31 to April 4.
Placed between the birthday of César Chávez and the
anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination,
this week of action continues the social and economic justice
traditions of these two heros by highlighting workers’ rights
to organize and collectively bargain with employers.

SLAP is a program made up of Jobs with Justice, a network of
community labor coalitions nationwide, and the United States
Student Association, the oldest and largest national organization
representing students.

President Bush made clear in the first budget proposal of his
second term that students are one of his lowest priorities. His
proposals to completely eliminate Upward Bound, Perkins loans and
other post-secondary financial aid programs make it even harder for
some students to pursue higher education.

The president has also clearly shown his disdain for working
families. He has proposed cuts in funding for labor training and
support programs, including those of the Office of Disability
Employment Policy. His budget makes cuts to child care assistance,
raises health care costs for veterans and slashes Medicaid.

At the same time, Bush added $477 billion to the predicted
federal deficit in 2004 alone with tax cuts for the rich and
rampant military spending.

Adding insult to injury, Bush has proposed privatizing Social
Security ““ putting retirement security in jeopardy for
millions of both the young and the old.

Simultaneously, state lawmakers continue to hike up tuition
costs, cut financial aid and refuse to give campus employees a
living wage, health care and other benefits to help sustain their
families.

This is not how we pictured the dream.

Students, workers and communities aren’t taking this
challenge to educational and economic opportunity lightly. As a
part of the National Student Labor Week of Action, students in
Missouri, California and Washington struggled to win a living wage
for campus workers, helping public employees renew their contracts
in California.

In other states, students supported employees of major
corporations that depend heavily on the campus consumer base. They
joined workers to take on Verizon Wireless, Taco Bell and ARAMARK
in hopes of winning contracts that improve wages and benefits and
uphold workers’ rights.

The National Student Labor Week of Action also brought together
struggles of graduate employees fighting for recognition, fair
wages and benefits.

By bringing these issues together on campus and off, students,
workers and communities are fighting back against affronts, whether
from the Bush administration, greedy employers or unfair
administrators. They are joining together to fight for increased
funding and recognition.

Lawmakers must prioritize education by prioritizing the people
who make a campus tick, through funding financial aid, a living
wage and benefits. By working together, we can make our government,
our corporations and our campuses more accountable.

It’s time to take a stand. Both King and Chávez spent
their lives defending working families just like ours. Together, in
the footsteps of our heros, we are building the power to change our
situation.

Vu is the external vice president of USAC.