Student Workers: The Struggles of Education and Employment
Dalton Nolan
5/1/2024
As May Day comes and goes, the class conscious workers of the world continue fight the good fight against the minority owning class of their respective countries (and abroad) and celebrate their many achievements in this bitter class struggle; in turn, we all must take time to recognize, acknowledge, and show solidarity to all sections of the working class. Throughout history, the diversity of the working class has been inflamed by the owning class to sow destructive division and conflict, with racism, sexism, queerphobia, and more brought to the forefront to weaken the unity and solidarity within working class movements. Thus, for working class movements to bear the most weight upon the ruling class, to secure the most gains, and to continue the class struggle in favor of the majority over the minority, solidarity with all sections of the working class must be maintained at all cost.
Yet, even when this is attempted, sometimes certain sections of the working class slip through the cracks, with student workers being one of the most “forgotten.” Student workers are defined as high school or college students who are attending an educational institution while still working part- or full-time. In theory, student workers shouldn’t exist, as students, especially high school students, exist in a transitionary phase of development, in which they are gradually entering the workforce and the “real world.” As such, high school student workers shouldn’t exist, as they need to spend their precious time and energy toward schooling in preparation for higher education or a career; however, this is not the case, as the economic system we live under forces people into worse living conditions, requiring families, especially those from marginalized communities (e.g., Black American and immigrants), to have everyone chip in. This situation that many working class families experience flies in the face of the supposed “choice” to work that high schoolers are given, as many high schoolers must become student workers and are forced to dedicate valuable time to working for less pay and in typically non-unionized workplaces, leaving them more at the whims of the bosses than unionized workplaces. Yet, despite this troubling dynamic, oftentimes high schoolers are lambasted by older workers and society at large who feel that they are merely complaining and need to develop a “strong work ethic.” Such attitudes reinforce division in the working class by pitting generations against one another when both high school student workers and older workers desire the same things.
In college, student workers encounter similar, though slightly different challenges. While both high school and college student workers are forced to divert valuable study time toward working to support themselves, there are currently laws that prohibit when a high school student can work and to what extent, giving them some reprieve and security from work; college students, though, have no such protections, which is further exacerbated by the fact that many required classes for degrees are only available on specific times and dates, with little to no control or input from college students who are paying the school to attend. In addition, since many college student workers no longer live at home, many are forced to scrounge up enough to find stable housing, which is complicated by the fact that: a. few college student workers have good credit for loans, b. they lack the knowledge to discern what is a “good” deal or not, and c. they have to take in other considerations (which is common among the working class) when trying to decide where to live.
Combined with the other problems of being working class, such as rising costs, spending cuts to public services, etc., both high school student and college student workers— amid the supposed “transitionary phase of development” in their lives—are forced to contend with the real world and all its hardships far sooner than they are mentally, physically, or financially prepared for, leaving many stumbling and struggling for decades, when this, in theory, shouldn’t happen.
Now, the question is: what is the solution? How can the trials and tribulations of working class students be addressed or mitigated? Such a question has many answers depending on what facet of the topic we’re addressing. For the inter-generational strife between the younger student workers and the older non-student workers, there needs to be a consensus of mutual solidarity, as both groups, though from different time periods and with slightly different views on certain aspects of life, still want the same things out of life and still contend with the same problems in life and in the workforce: both groups desire better and stable pay, safer workplace conditions, more paid time off, greater level of protection from the bosses, a democratic voice in their workplace, etc. Therefore, inter-generational solidarity and support are a must, especially as we remember that many older workers were once in the shoes of those same younger student workers, and some older workers are, in fact, student workers. Regardless of the composition of the workforce, all workers in all industries and workplaces need a union, as without unions, working people, who produce all the goods and services in our society and make the bosses richer for it, are left without the means to secure those demands mentioned previously.
If we are discussing working conditions, then the first big step is the unionization of workplaces classified as “entry-level” jobs, such as McDonald's, Burger King, Walmart, etc. Though unions are typically thought to be tied to bigger and less “entry-level” jobs, such as UPS or Amazon, a union can, and should, be at ever job, representing every worker. Therefore, while unions are impactful and assist the working class at places such as UPS, unions can be even more beneficial to student workers, especially high school student workers, as unions provide them with more job security, better pay, and better benefits that can go a long way, not only for them as individuals, but for their families, too. In addition, though many will claim that “entry-level” positions do not require a union because they are there to prepare people for careers, the fact remains that an extensive amount of older people are working these jobs because they have no alternative employment and, moreover, many of the people working in these entry-level jobs have gone to college, have received degrees that should guarantee them better employment, and yet that isn’t the case.
In conclusion, the working class, regardless of an individual’s personal identity, suffers the same core problems wherever they work. As such, it is of utmost importance that we, as workers, show unwavering solidarity and support to all sections of the working class in whatever struggle they are engaged in; in doing so, not only do we strengthen the working class in the class struggle, but we also improve the material conditions of all workers.