Sept. 21, 2021
To the Hamilton Community,
Undergraduate admissions workers are in the process of organizing a union. An election is scheduled for September 24, 2021. This is a path-breaking effort that would establish the first union in higher education for admissions workers. We, the undersigned faculty, wholeheartedly support the unionization effort.
As detailed in a letter to the
Spectator
signed by three student employees of the Admissions Office — Izzy Rutkey, Wriley Nelson, and Eric Cortes-Kopp — the spur to organizing came already last summer, when students asked the Admissions Office for a pay raise, a request that was rebuffed. Salary concerns were not the only issue motivating student employees at Admissions: other student workers at the Admissions Office were being paid with Hannaford gift cards or Visa cards, while some were not being compensated for all hours worked, which raised concerns of wage theft. Moreover, last spring, the Admissions Office resumed in-person tours without consulting tour guides, at a time when the COVID vaccine was not yet available and COVID restrictions meant that students themselves could not leave campus.
Based on these concerns, student employees at the Admissions Office have signed cards stating that they want to hold a vote to unionize. This is an important democratic process, one that we would expect the College to honor and support. Disappointingly, however, the Admissions Office, while not actively blocking the election, have allegedly engaged in unfair labor practices in violation of the National Labor Relations Act. For example, following the Admissions workers’ decision to file a petition to unionize, the Admissions Office granted a raise to student workers and directly spoke to workers about the union, tactics that can be seen as efforts to dissuade students from voting to unionize.
At Hamilton, we put a high value on faculty governance. We, the undersigned, believe that student workers, too, should have substantive say over their working conditions, for their benefit as well as the benefit of all members of our college community. A union is a powerful way of ensuring that workers are able to individually and collectively participate in shaping their work environment.
In a letter to the
Spectator
, Monica Inzer, Vice President for Enrollment, argued that a union would “diminish the ability of the Admission staff members to teach, mentor, and communicate directly with students.” We believe that, on the contrary, by ensuring good working conditions, a union can help facilitate a more equitable environment for learning and communication. Forming a union does not guarantee success of workers’ specific
demands. And, yes, it would mean more rules governing the workplace. But, again, with faculty governance as a model, it means that there are ways to still work closely with the administration even while protecting the rights of workers.
The important point is that a union empowers workers, through organizational resources, collective bargaining rules, and increased solidarity, to be able to seek better working conditions and protect themselves against not only employer malfeasance or abuse but also the capriciousness of employer responses to developments like COVID. Such protection is especially important for students from economically marginalized communities — often first generation students or students of color — who may often face a choice between accepting unfair or unsafe working conditions and losing essential income.
We support the process by which Admissions students are organizing, and, if the student workers vote to unionize, hope that the college will bargain in good faith with the union to improve working conditions.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Ambrose, Writing Center
Joyce Barry, Women’s and Gender Studies
Jay Bloom, Cinema Studies and Art History
Peter F. Cannavo, Government
Priya Chandrasekaran, Environmental Studies
Mariam Durrani, Anthropology
Rebecca Dyer, Psychology
Courtney Gibbons, Mathematics and Statistics
Matt Grace, Sociology
Kevin Grant, History
Naomi Guttman, Literature and Creative Writing
Viva R. Horowitz, Physics
Anna Huff Mercovich, Digital Arts
Heather Kropp, Environmental Studies
Susan Jarosi, Art History
Philip A Klinkner, Government
Robert Knight, Art
Anne Lacsamana, Women’s & Gender Studies
Alexandra List, Psychology and Neuroscience
Ruth W. Lo, Art History
Pedram Maghsoud-Nia, Government
Alex Manning, Sociology
William J. Mea, Government
Arathi Menon, Art History
Heather Merrill, Africana Studies
Celeste Day Moore, History
Margo Okazawa-Rey, Levitt Center and Women’s & Gender Studies
Stephen W Orvis, Government
David Perkins, Computer Science
Nancy S. Rabinowitz, Literature & Creative Writing
Emerita Noelle Relles, Biology
Stina Soderling, Women’s & Gender Studies
Mahala Dyer Stewart, Sociology
Darren Strash, Computer Science
Pavitra Sundar, Literature & Creative Writing
Laura Tillery, Art History
Lisa Trivedi, History
Rebecca Wall, History
Jesse Weiner, Classics
Nigel Westmaas, Africana Studies
Benjamin Widiss, Literature and Creative Writing
Jeanne Willcoxon, Theatre
