To: Paula Johnson, President of Wellesley College, Andrew Shennan, Provost of Wellesley College, Piper Orton, VP of Finance and Administration, and Wellesley College Board of Trustees, Wellesley College Board of Trustees
Wellesley Alums Pledge to Withhold Donations until Union Workers Are Guaranteed a Fair Contract a...
The undersigned are Wellesley alums and supporters who pledge not to donate to the College until IMSEUA workers are treated with respect. This means agreeing to a fair contract with IMSEUA that recognizes and values the many contributions these workers make to the College. We also welcome the signatures of faculty and current students as a symbol of solidarity in this pledge.
Why is this important?
Wellesley College is currently in contract negotiations with IMSEUA, Wellesley’s labor union for food service workers, custodians, grounds people, tradespeople and many others. The Wellesley administration is proposing a set of disturbing and anti-worker contract terms, including:
1. 15% pay cuts to new employees in dining.
This is the lowest paid, most diverse, and most female group in the Union. These pay cuts would mean new employees coming would earn less in inflation-adjusted dollars than new employees in the early 90’s. These cuts would mean that a lot of new employees will not be earning a living wage (as a base wage) if they have kids or other dependents. By trying to set current union-represented employees against their future coworkers, the Wellesley administration attempts to undermine the union through the creation of a two-tier system. This ignores the solidarity and care for one's fellow workers that are at the heart of unionism.
2. Cuts to leadership positions within the Union with lower rates for new employees who would hold these positions.
These are positions that people spend years working toward. The cuts would put Lead Custodian and Head Groundskeeper below early 90’s levels when adjusted for inflation.
3. Reductions in what counts as overtime.
They would like that most paid time off not be counted toward overtime. If you call out sick or at a funeral, and come in and work 16 hours the next day you will not get overtime. This includes vacation, personal time and Jury duty.
The workers represented by IMSEUA are an integral part of the Wellesley community. Foodservice workers, for example, go above and beyond the duties described in their job descriptions to support students and create a sense of community on campus, particularly for minority, low-income, first-generation, and other students who need that support the most.
The administration’s proposed contract terms also betray the values of the Wellesley community. Dining workers are the lowest paid, most diverse, and most female group in the Union. In the past thirty years, every woman newly hired into a Union position, with one exception, was hired into one of these dining positions. The proposed cuts would only widen the already significant pay gap between male and female Union employees. This undermines our community’s cherished feminist commitments. The administration’s proposal to cut leadership positions within the Union and pay new workers in those positions less is also shocking, coming from an institution which claims to value and support women’s leadership.
This disrespectful treatment of IMSEUA in recent contract negotiations is part of a larger anti-worker agenda that the Wellesley administration seems to have adopted in recent years. Two years ago the College proposed to eliminate several union jobs at the Greenhouse and replace these positions with non-union workers, a move which would have pushed beloved Greenhouse staff members into lower-paid jobs requiring far different skill sets right before retirement. We demand that the Wellesley administration reverse this trend and adopt pro-worker values which treat all campus employees with dignity and respect, as equal members of our community.
1. 15% pay cuts to new employees in dining.
This is the lowest paid, most diverse, and most female group in the Union. These pay cuts would mean new employees coming would earn less in inflation-adjusted dollars than new employees in the early 90’s. These cuts would mean that a lot of new employees will not be earning a living wage (as a base wage) if they have kids or other dependents. By trying to set current union-represented employees against their future coworkers, the Wellesley administration attempts to undermine the union through the creation of a two-tier system. This ignores the solidarity and care for one's fellow workers that are at the heart of unionism.
2. Cuts to leadership positions within the Union with lower rates for new employees who would hold these positions.
These are positions that people spend years working toward. The cuts would put Lead Custodian and Head Groundskeeper below early 90’s levels when adjusted for inflation.
3. Reductions in what counts as overtime.
They would like that most paid time off not be counted toward overtime. If you call out sick or at a funeral, and come in and work 16 hours the next day you will not get overtime. This includes vacation, personal time and Jury duty.
The workers represented by IMSEUA are an integral part of the Wellesley community. Foodservice workers, for example, go above and beyond the duties described in their job descriptions to support students and create a sense of community on campus, particularly for minority, low-income, first-generation, and other students who need that support the most.
The administration’s proposed contract terms also betray the values of the Wellesley community. Dining workers are the lowest paid, most diverse, and most female group in the Union. In the past thirty years, every woman newly hired into a Union position, with one exception, was hired into one of these dining positions. The proposed cuts would only widen the already significant pay gap between male and female Union employees. This undermines our community’s cherished feminist commitments. The administration’s proposal to cut leadership positions within the Union and pay new workers in those positions less is also shocking, coming from an institution which claims to value and support women’s leadership.
This disrespectful treatment of IMSEUA in recent contract negotiations is part of a larger anti-worker agenda that the Wellesley administration seems to have adopted in recent years. Two years ago the College proposed to eliminate several union jobs at the Greenhouse and replace these positions with non-union workers, a move which would have pushed beloved Greenhouse staff members into lower-paid jobs requiring far different skill sets right before retirement. We demand that the Wellesley administration reverse this trend and adopt pro-worker values which treat all campus employees with dignity and respect, as equal members of our community.