In 2023, Students Organizing for Labor Rights (SOLR) held 3 mutual aid events, in each academic quarter of our school year. At the winter mutual aid event, 125 campus workers received support in the form of care packages which included personal hygiene items, household supplies, and direct financial assistance. Our spring and fall mutual aid events were incredibly successful, with 200 workers supported at each distribution! SOLR’s mutual aid fund allowed us to purchase goods that workers expressed a need for, and reduced the burden of fiscal management on our group. 

By working with Open Collective, SOLR increased the regularity of community contributions, allowing us to provide more frequent and standardized support to workers as opposed to ad hoc mutual aid. In addition, our presence on Open Collective has increased our visibility and credibility, leading to a larger pool of contributors and more expansive outreach.

Our Collective underwent a leadership transition, as the Northwestern Class of 2023 graduated in June. SOLR prepared for this transition by documenting our history, writing protocols for mutual aid event distributions, and transferring institutional knowledge to new members. From this process, we learned the value of documentation and collective knowledge, and set the precedent for ongoing documentation of our work. 

We have also grown in terms of our capacity to support community members. When we first began doing mutual aid work, we regularly had to close our fund once it was exhausted, and did not have consistent funding sources with which to support workers. Since implementing more rigorous financial processes, we have been able to conduct mutual aid events at least 3 times per year. Each event has built upon the last, as we gather input from community members to inform the next distribution of mutual aid. SOLR’s most recent mutual aid event supported 200 workers, and we are excited to continue increasing that number!

As SOLR members transition into the winter academic quarter, we are excited to build upon the successes of 2023. In particular, we are aiming to refine and further standardize our fundraising process to ensure continued consistency for campus workers. We are also excited to continue working directly with campus workers, not only through mutual aid work, but also through ongoing advocacy for improved working conditions on our campus. SOLR will also expand our partnerships with other student organizations, further increasing the scope of our work as we advocate for campus-wide labor rights. 

In 2024, SOLR plans to host an additional 3 mutual aid events, with the possibility of a fourth mutual aid and/or advocacy event during the summer vacation, members’ capacity permitting. We hope to increase our mutual aid fund with the goal of supporting additional campus workers at each event.