BY CAROLINE BUNNELL
PC: Caroline Bunnell '24
Chants of “We fight, we win” could be heard at the entrance of campus by Stonehill facilities workers, students, and members of the Service Employees International Union who are rallying over ongoing bargaining agreement issues.
“At a moment when the college asked us for help for uncertainty, we helped out. Now that it is time for that same type of reciprocation. We are asking for fair representation to honor that sort of agreement. We help them, they help us,” said Zach Duncan, member of the bargaining agreement committee, and 2018 Stonehill graduate.
The contract for facilities workers expires July 1, and discussions surrounding wages have been ongoing for around a year and a half, Duncan said. This specific contract has been discussed since January, Duncan said.
In a written statement, a representative from the college said that they hope an agreement can be reached.
“We continue to offer a fair, equitable, and sustainable contract to our facilities and custodial colleagues who we deeply value. We remain hopeful that union representatives and stewards work with us in good faith to reach an agreement in the days ahead,” Tom Flynn, Vice President and General Counsel, said in a written statement.
Around 20 people lined up on the sidewalk outside of the college next to the main entrance on Thursday afternoon.
Duncan said the college called upon essential workers, such as facilities workers, to keep the school running, and help during the pandemic, which led to many sacrifices having to be made.
“They are ignoring the fact that we are human beings. They are ignoring the struggles. We have had a lot of members talk about that during the negotiations, saying these are the things that are going to affect us adversely. They just seem to be shut off to it,” Duncan said.
Roxana Rivera, assistant to the president of the Service Employees Union, echoed Duncan’s sentiments, emphasizing what she said was the college’s lack of regard for the sacrifices essential workers made for Stonehill during the pandemic.
She said that it was a time to thank essential workers and providing them with fair wages is the perfect opportunity to do it.
“During the pandemic, everyone said thank the essential workers over and over. This is an opportunity coming out of the pandemic, to thank essential workers,” Rivera said.
Rivera said aside from lack of wage increase, retirement also took a hit for many workers during the pandemic. The portion of retirement that the college would match, was taken away from facilities workers during COVID-19, Rivera said.
“The portion that the college does to match the retirement was pulled out from under them. What we’re saying to the college is that they need to fully restore that” Rivera said.
Many of the essential facilities workers have been at Stonehill for many years, and workers such as Zach Duncan stay at the school because they believe in the mission of the college, Rivera said.
“They could clean or maintain anywhere else. They care for the students. A lot of the folks that work at the college really see themselves as caretakers because of the students, not just cleaning bathrooms,” Rivera said.
The Summit will continue to provide updates as they come.