Dozens Gather Outside Usdan to Support Campus Worker’s Rights & Labor Movement on May Day

In recognition of May Day, dozens of University students and labor advocates gathered in front of Usdan University Center to celebrate their advocacy progress over the past academic year and rally for workers’ rights on Friday, May 1, 2026.

This protest marks the second student demonstration advocating for better treatment of student workers and staff in the past week, following a gathering on Thursday, April 30 in response to the firing of a University custodial worker. The rally drew around 40 attendees with a large stage set up for speakers and tables lined with student organizations. Students could tie-dye and screen print t-shirts in the grass to commemorate the day as speakers delivered their remarks.

May 1 is recognized around the world as International Workers’ Day. May Day has been celebrated for more than 50 years on campus, notably including a 1970 performance by the Grateful Dead.

The event was organized by the Wesleyan United Student/Labor Action Coalition, the Wesleyan chapter of the American Association of University Professors, the Wesleyan Union of Student Employment (WesUSE), and two local union groups: the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153, which is affiliated with WesUSE; and Local 217 Connecticut, a hospitality union. 

Other student groups also tabled, including members of the Sunrise Movement and the Wesleyan ICE Out Coalition.

“I think that there’s no conversation about immigrant rights in this country without a conversation about labor and a conversation about respecting the rights of every person in this country,” Blythe Lavin ’29, a member of ICE Out, said.

Residential Advisor (RA) Matt Townley ’28, the incoming chief steward of the WesUSE, celebrated the historic achievements of OPEIU Local 153 while also highlighting the importance of Residential Life (ResLife) RAs to the community. In March 2022, WesUSE became the first known union of undergraduate residential workers at a private university to win a contract and successfully form their union with OPEIU Local 153. The organization represents ResLife employees, including but not limited to RAs, community advisors, and house managers.

Townley emphasized that RAs were not compensated or celebrated enough for their emotional labor and unexpected duties in addition to their day-to-day work. Townley claimed that it was after a flooding incident in 2021 that the RAs began to work with OPEIU Local 153 to start a union.

“In 2021, on the first day that first-years were on campus, the [Butterfields dorms] flooded,” Townley said. “It was 2 a.m., and all these RAs in the Butterfields were forced to move students to the Freeman Athletic Center in the rain without prior notice. The RAs were also awake since 7:30 a.m. helping with moving. After our entire move in, all these students were forced to spend days in the wet rain and they didn’t get any compensation.”

Another grievance expressed by the student speakers was the lack of recognition of the Graduate Student Union (WesGLU). The organization had also voted to form a union with the OPEIU Local 153 in September 2024. More than a hundred graduate students are a part of the union, and it is in the process of negotiating its first contract with the University. However, it has yet to be officially recognized.

OPEIU Local 153 also supports the union for clerical and administrative assistants, Physical Plant employees at the University, and graduate students. Stewards from the secretarial and clerical sectors expressed their grievances on working with University administration, citing a severe lack of communication and ongoing, but struggling, negotiations with the Human Resources department.

“We began contract negotiations with the University on December 5 for an agreement that expires on June 30,” Art Studio Administrative Assistant and Chief Steward of OPEIU Local 153 Rhonda York wrote in a message that was read to attendees. “Our hope was that, for once, negotiations would conclude before the contract expired, rather than extending into October, which has historically been the case. Unfortunately, nearly five months later, we have only just begun.”

Aarushi Bahadur can be reached at abahadur@wesleyan.edu. 

Finn Feldman can be reached at ffeldman@wesleyan.edu.

Akari Ikeda can be reached at aikeda@wesleyan.edu.