Custodians, dining workers, and groundskeepers at Mount Holyoke College rally Tuesday for fair union contracts before bargaining discussions end next month.
Their central demands are higher wages to compensate for inflation, a supplemental retirement account and an employer-paid legal services fund, which would provide free legal services on many issues for workers including immigration matters.
Kevin Brown is the Vice President of the 32BJ union representing workers at Mount Holyoke. He said most of the 170 workers they represent are here under temporary protected status, a federal protection against deportation.
“Some [workers] are here under temporary temporary protected status programs from various countries and we're fearful that's going to end,” said Brown. “People need to figure out another solution to adjust their status so they can legally work at the college. And this fund would assist that.”
Brown said the college has made some progress on wages, but hasn't included the legal fund or the supplemental retirement fund.
A spokesperson from Mount Holyoke College said in a statement that the college “is actively engaged in contract negotiations and cannot speak to specifics at this time. However, MHC leadership is confident that the administration and union bargaining teams will be able to work together in good faith to reach a just and sustainable result for all College employees.”
Richard Sugrue is a cook at Mount Holyoke and a 32BJ member who worked on the campus for seven years. He’s on the bargaining committee for this upcoming contract.
“There has been some movement on the part of management, and acknowledgement that wages need to increase for the lowest paid employees. But we still have some work to do to get closer to what we need,” Sugrue said.
Sugrue was at the rally with his co-workers and said the circumstances to be rallying were regrettable, needing to fight for a living wage and proper protections, but that the mood was really happy.
“Everyone was in good spirits, we were bumping fists and patting backs and smiling. In food service, the busiest, most intense work days can be the most exhilarating, if you’re shoulder-to-shoulder with friends and doing good work. It’s like that: it’s hard work, but we’re happy to be side-by-side in the fight,” Sugrue said.
