For R21: The Potential of Militant and Democratic Student Unions

The authors outline the need for student unions in this current political moment and why YDSA should take on this long-term project.

YDSA has the opportunity to bring this revolutionary model of organizing here first.

From organizing the first undergrad student labor union at the University of Oregon, helping establishing the city of Columbia, Missouri as a LGBTQ+ sanctuary city, and winning a $15 minimum wage for all campus workers at Oakland University in Detroit, Michigan, YDSA chapters have been engaging in some of the most dynamic organizing in the United States. In this spirit of pushing the envelope, we believe that YDSA should establish student unions on college campuses across the country. Although student unions are generally a foreign concept here in the United States, they are a tried and true organizational model overseas.

 In Canada and Brazil, student unions have been responsible for the sustained mass mobilization and political radicalization of thousands of students. Just last year, 50,000 students in Sao Paulo went on strike to protest austerity measures targeting public universities. In June of this year, a state law passed which privatized state public schools resulting in a student strike called by the student union.. According to the student union president Gabriel Ramos, “We must have a protesting and popular organization. Students have to occupy their buildings to reject, in the ground, the privatization of their schools”.

 The U.S. also saw an organic mass mobilization of its student movement this year through the solidarity encampments for Palestine, which, coupled with the brutal repression from the Universities, radicalized many of those involved. Many encampments succumbed to pitfalls that are common in undemocratic operations. U.S. socialists should learn from our Brazilian comrades and unwaveringly advocate for transparent, collaborative, bottom up, rank-and-file democracy. In the spirit of our brave international comrades, YDSA should not shy away from bold and courageous ideas, but rather eagerly accept the challenge they present. Student unions are this challenge and we should earnestly take this project on by voting YES on Resolution 21. 

What is a Student Union and how does it function? 

Much like a labor union, a student union is a democratic organization through which students engage in collective struggle to win material change on campus and in their lives. Direct democracy is the model’s strength because it requires students to be engaged in collective action. 1-member-1-vote is present everywhere from the committees, to the general assemblies. This model demands organizers   strongly commit to relational organizing at every level. 

The foundation of a student union is departmental organizing, which politicizes members by making them meet students where they’re at. Building up relationships in your department with people you see everyday is vital because who organically learn more about student issues, build trust, and make hard asks. Over time this organically politicizes students and lets them see themself as political actors with a sense of autonomy. Learning what agitates students from departmental organizing allows the student union to identify and build a campaign that is widely and deeply felt across the campus. 

General assemblies are another core aspect of student unions that make them so unique. This body is open to the whole student body and a space for discourse and planning. Ideally this body meets weekly and lets students and elected leadership ask questions and strategize for campus wide campaigns, actions, and events. Temporary and permanent committees can also be established at these meetings through a public vote by the membership. These committees can be made to carry out a single event or action, or broader functions that support campaigns like research, media, archiving, and more. 

A common question about student unions is, “Who leads it?” Like a YDSA chapter, a steering committee is formed to lead the student union. What is important to note is that the individuals who make up the steering committee are elected by the student body. The primary responsibility of elected leadership is to ensure the democracy and long-term health of the union. Similar to a healthy and functioning YDSA chapter, leaders need buy-in from the rank-and-file to implement their ideas. Tied to the idea of relational organizing, organizers should not treat rank-and-file members as a non-autonomous tool with no say over their liberation. 

Student Unions And YDSA

San Francisco State University YDSA has led the charge in experimenting with student unions. They began by identifying a set of sixteen issues which had material impacts and were widely felt among students such as proposed tuition increases, and cuts to faculty and programs. In November of 2023, the SFSU student union and the SFSU YDSA led a walkout against the universities decision to cut nearly 655 classes and 300 faculty Members. The union distinguished itself from the often weak and ineffective student government by basing its platform on widely felt issues. Speaking to real issues presented the union as an instrument of the students which came from within the student body.

The student union can provide political development and education to its members by engaging them in collective action. As wins accumulate, the power and potential of a mass movement becomes increasingly clear. SFSU student union was also able to politically develop the membership in other mass movements. The student union worked alongside the SFSU YDSA and local labor unions to achieve the historic victory of forming the largest undergrad labor union in the country. Two months later during the student encampments, the SFSU student union worked in a coalition to successfully demand divestment from the university.

We must start planning now!

Student unions are a bold new project that can potentially expand YDSA’s reach to countless thousands of non-politicized students and young people. We cannot take shortcuts when it comes to implementing the five new student unions outlined in Resolution 21. We want to ensure there is a healthy balance between the student unions and YDSA chapters leading them; the last thing we want is for a YDSA chapter to become neglected and falter. Therefore, researching campus conditions and existing health of a YDSA chapter is extremely important when identifying where to establish these five student unions. It is imperative we conduct proper mentorship and support for each of the unions so that they can last in the long run. This is not a wasteful naive foray but a serious long-term project we seek to implement. The long-term goal is that eventually student unions can become a predominant force on campuses across the country, backed by a strong YDSA. This is YDSA’s opportunity to lead a revitalized student movement by bringing revolutionary and exciting new ideas to win meaningful change through mass struggle.

The student movement in America is in a moment with few precedents throughout modern American history. The encampments facilitated large-scale radicalization, producing a student movement that will stand with bold action and feel a sense of urgency that did not exist five months ago. We encourage delegates to vote resolution 21 and seriously invest in building student unions to meet this desire. The task to build student unions is not easy, but we as YDSA must be willing to push the boundaries of political organizing and be the catalyst to organize the multi-racial working class into action. We do not engage in the class struggle through mass action because it is easy, but because it’s hard and is damn worth it! Vote YES on Resolution 21!