Recently, workers in transportation, hospitality, and housing at USC have been receiving letters that they will be laid off or furloughed this December 31st, 2020. These workers - many of whom are working class BIPOC - will be left without a stable source of income or health insurance, threatening their wellbeing and survival in the midst of a global COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, some workers have to restart and lose all benefits from their years there; if the workers are guardians of USC students, this includes tuition benefits.

Many of these workers have been loyal to USC for many years and are an essential part of our communities. USC increased its tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year by 3.5%, and without a large on-campus population to manage on campus, USC has likely been able to cut costs. As such, we are confident USC has the funds to provide for its employees in this time of great need. We cannot allow workers to be pushed aside by the USC administration during this COVID-19 crisis. We, as members of the USC community, demand that USC stops all layoffs of its workers, continue their paid time off and 401(k)'s, continue to provide the workers' healthcare and tuition benefits, honor the seniority and years that people have held their jobs, and increase transparency on the workers' employment statuses.

If you stand with USC workers and wish to stop worker layoffs, please sign and share this petition! For more information or questions email scale.usc@gmail.com or follow us on instagram @uscscale