Around 200 facilities workers at Mount Holyoke College walked off the job on Tuesday morning, officially going on strike in response to what their unions called an "unfair refusal to bargain" for a new contract. Members of SEIU Local 32BJ and UAW Local 2322 are asking for wage increases to stay ahead of a rising cost of living, and an extra boost for their lowest paid workers.
The strike ended that night, with the hope that the one-day withholding of labor will incentivize school administrators to return to the bargaining table.
Marilyn Trimble has been a union housekeeper with the UAW for 31 years. She says it's felt like Mount Holyoke hasn't been hearing the concerns of its workers.
"The college has just been sending different proposals to our [union] rep, and we have not had an opportunity to actually sit down and go through verbally why we want things to be the way they are, or why we want to change things," she said.
SEIU locksmith Tony Weidman echoed those frustrations.
"We've been trying since April to negotiate a fair contract for all members," he said. "And they just seem to come back and talk about, you know, 'we don't have the money.' We're just looking for a living wage so we can pay our bills at the end of the week."
SEIU Local 32BJ has used MIT's Living Wage Calculator to define that "living wage," which for Hampshire County comes out to around $25 an hour for a single adult.
Facilities and dining workers with the SEIU are also asking for access to an employer-financed legal fund, that would provide no-cost legal assistance to employees. That would include immigration defense, amid a national deportation campaign by the Trump administration.
"A lot of times, as we've seen in the news repeatedly, people have their legal right to work in this country, but there may be a clerical error," according to SEIU 32BJ business agent Bill Simms. "And we're not trying to have ICE come kick in their door over a clerical error. So the legal fund helps defend them and represent them in court and helps them straighten out their paperwork and everything so that they can return to work."
Tuesday's strike coincided with Mount Holyoke's Convocation, kicking off the new school year and welcoming returning students. Around 350 of those students walked with striking workers that afternoon, and a preceding rally included supportive remarks from a history professor at the college.
In a statement, Mount Holyoke College says "We remain committed to reaching a fair and sustainable agreement. We deeply value and recognize the contributions of all of our employees. We will continue to negotiate in good faith with Local 32BJ and Local UAW 2322 in the hope of reaching a resolution as quickly as possible."
