Major Victory for Student Labor Rights at the University of Washington

Social Work Student Union and UW Graduate Professional Student Senate pass a historic resolution in favor of paid and
protected internships.
The Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS), which represents 15,000 graduate and professional students at the
University of Washington, passed a Resolution today calling upon the University of Washington and the School of Social
Work to end the exploitation of student labor under the guise of field education. The Resolution tasks the UW to
formally recognize student labor performed in their required internship placements and to cease violations of the Federal
Department of Labor (DOL) standards on unpaid and unprotected internships (see attached).
The resolution was proposed by Social Work Student Union (SWSU), a student activist group from the School of Social
Work backed by City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, and a nationwide leader in the movement for social work
internship reform. It details specific solutions for the School of Social Work including securing paid positions, supporting
students in applying for work study, and conducting an independent annual audit of the School of Social Works
compliance with the DOL standards.
The resolution passed with the support of 21 Senate co-sponsors, said GPSS Senator Eddie Schweiterman, an
unprecedented show of support in recorded GPSS history.
Social work students at the UW are required to complete 1,040 hours in their Master of Social Work internship
placements and perform many of the duties of paid employees at over 300 nonprofit organizations, city and county
government agencies, and UW departments across the region. These field education hours cost students $15-$25 per
hour and students are excluded from the crucial injury and discrimination protections that are guaranteed to paid
employees. Additionally, students are forced to sign a liability waiver holding the University and internship site harmless
in the event of injury or death.
The UW School of Social Works 2014 student survey revealed that many students do not feel the field education
program is in compliance with DOL standards. Approximately 75% of students surveyed indicated their sites derived
immediate advantages from their uncompensated work, and 50% reported that their work as interns displaced regular
employees, both of which clearly contradict the DOL standards for unpaid internships
The exploitation of students represents structural injustice within the School of Social Work. Students are mandated to
provide more than 1,000 hours as unpaid and unprotected interns, said Jooree Ahn, SWSU organizer and Social Work
graduate student, This is basically coercion to provide free labor and today the Graduate Professional Student Senate
took a historic step to right this injustice.
Email: swsu.uw@gmail.com