Students working at the USC Bookstore created a list of demands and a list of grievances against the USC Bookstore management, obtained by the Daily Trojan. The list demands that the USC Bookstore managers ensure workers are paid on time, create a safe work environment for students and improve transparency in the workplace. 

The list alleges that managers would publicly berate workers and that students have poor working conditions, including being denied cold water while working outside on hot days and having a generally disorganized workplace. The document also listed a number of accusations against the senior manager of the USC Bookstore, Butch Paredes, for allegedly making inappropriate comments in the workplace.

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USC and Paredes have previously been sued by a USC Bookstore student worker in 2020 for alleged racial discrimination and harassment. Both parties are in the process of negotiating an agreement to dismiss the case.

In an interview with the Daily Trojan, one student worker, a senior majoring in theatre with an emphasis in acting, alleged there have been instances in which they haven’t gotten paid for up to two pay periods. The student requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.

“There are a bunch of other students who also had issues with getting paid, but they just haven’t said anything about it,” the student said. “There was another person who told me that they hadn’t gotten paid for a few months at a time.”

The student also said they faced difficulties getting scheduled after calling out of work on a football game day because of class.

“I wasn’t scheduled on the shift for the next like three weeks,” the student said. “That’s really weird because what happens is if you miss a game day — like no call, no show — you get blacklisted. They don’t tell you you get blacklisted, but you get blacklisted. You’re not on the schedule for a few weeks. So, I’m like ‘Am I blacklisted because I haven’t put on the schedule for the past three weeks?’”

The list of grievances alleged that students can be removed from “scheduling for weeks at a time with small infractions (not saying hi to customers) or for little to no explanation.” When the student asked why they hadn’t been scheduled, they were told it was an accident, they said.

Another student worker at the USC Bookstore, a senior majoring in American studies and ethnicity with an emphasis in African American studies, also requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. They said they had been promised at least 10 hours a week because they had work-study but would regularly get scheduled for zero to three hours. The student also said they missed up to a month of class because their manager kept scheduling their hours during class, but said they avoided speaking up because they feared being fired.

“There was always a lot of people being hired consistently, and one of the first things that stood out to me was the lack of training and communication that happens, especially with new hires,” the student majoring in theatre said. “I’ve also found that a lot of people had a lot of gripes [with the USC Bookstore] but never really brought it up with anybody and instead of talking about it, they’d rather just quit and they were quite easily replaced.” 

The student said the USC Bookstore doesn’t give new hires any official training, often leading them to do the training on their own. The student also said they were never given an employee handbook, which means they have no written policies to refer to.

The student also said the process for becoming a supervisor is inconsistent: They said workers must first be recommended to the position by a supervisor, but there have been instances of managers making people supervisors with no prior process. 

In the list of demands, the students say there is no pay transparency and that workers who should be paid the same currently have different hourly rates, particularly supervisors. 

“[Some supervisors are] part of the scheduling team and they get paid maybe a dollar more for doing a ton more work,” the student majoring in theatre said. “They have to go through everybody’s availability sheets by hand. There’s no program for that. And they have to build everybody’s schedule. They get paid about $1 an hour more, but it’s a very stressful position.”

The student majoring in American studies and ethnicity said management is not lenient or understanding, they are only seen as workers, and their emotional, academic and physical needs are not considered.

“We are only seen in a singular way that takes away any other form of humanity that was just given to us,” the student majoring in American studies and ethnicity said. “In general, it’s the lack of grace, it’s the lack of compassion, it’s the lack of what makes you feel cared for. That really brings up the distinction between a worker and a student.”

The list of demands claims that if a resolution does not occur, the student workers will take further action. It claims that these demands and frustrations are not new.

In a statement to the Daily Trojan Wednesday, USC wrote, “We take seriously allegations and complaints of misconduct, and we abide by the laws protecting confidentiality. Federal and state privacy laws protect the identities of students, faculty and staff who make complaints. All complaints are followed up on or investigated appropriately.”

The student majoring in theater said some students want to unionize, though they said it’s a difficult process because the USC Bookstore’s low employee retention rate stifles the conversation and makes it harder to connect with other student workers. 

“In general, it would be the smartest and more than likely safest thing comparatively to unionize more so for student worker protections, most definitely for [the USC] Bookstore,” the student majoring in American studies and ethnicity said. “Folks are scared, and fear is a powerful tool.”