BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Over 1,000 student employees at Western Washington University (WWU) are planning to go on strike next week.

The union of Educational Student Employees (ESEs) announced they will walk off the job on Tuesday, May 21, unless an agreement on their first contract with the school is reached before then. ESEs include tutors, teaching assistants, research assistants and peer advisors at Western.

They’re asking for competitive wages, partial relief from tuition and fees and stronger protections against discrimination, harassment and bereavement leave. The union was officially formed in June 2023 and has been negotiating with university administration since September.

Organizers said they’re willing to bargain ahead of Tuesday’s deadline in order to avoid the potential strike.

Meanwhile, University of Washington (UW) Academic Student Employees (ASEs) reached a tentative agreement with the university just hours after striking.

The agreement comes after the ASEs walked out on strike on Tuesday, May 14 at 6 a.m. Over the course of a three-year agreement, wage increases, improved healthcare coverage and improvements to paid leave and reimbursement accommodations will take effect. A 36% increase to base salary pays for ASEs is a major highlight of the agreement, the largest raise the bargaining unit has ever won.

Notably, ASE bargaining team member Natasha Crepeau said that paid immigration leaves and reasonable accommodation articles are new additions to the agreement. But the work is not over according to Crepeau.

“We’re always going to continue pushing for better compensation and better working and living conditions for ASEs at the University of Washington,” said Crepeau.

She added that WWU and other Washington universities have led the charge for unionizing higher education student employees around the country.

“It’s important for folks to show solidarity with the students who are doing the work to organize themselves, often unpaid, and also who are standing up to the universities that we all work at,” said Crepeau.

The ratification vote for UW’s ASEs opened Wednesday, May 15 at 12 p.m., and will end on Friday, May 17 at 7 p.m.