Photo by Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27
Members of the SEIU 32BJ union held another rally outside Mount Holyoke College’s main gates to raise awareness about their contract negotiations with the College.
BY KIERA MCLAUGHLIN ’26
GLOBAL EDITOR
As spring semester came to an end, contract negotiations for Mount Holyoke College’s Dining Services, Facilities Management and housekeepers on campus continued.
On Tuesday, May 13, the Service Employees International Union – also known as SEIU – 32BJ labor union held two back-to-back rallies to bring community awareness to the current negotiations with the College’s administration.
This is the second rally held by the union this year, as the first rally was held on April 24. There have been five negotiation sessions as of May 13.
The SEIU 32BJ labor union is a national organization that represents essential workers and has more than 185,000 members. It is the largest property service worker’s union in the country. On campus, they represent around 200 facilities workers, including dining workers, custodians, groundskeepers and tradespeople.
The union’s main interests during negotiations are providing all employees with a livable wage in Hampshire County and ensuring the College’s contributions to workers’ 401(k)s.
The union also wishes to secure an employer-paid legal services fund to provide workers with free legal representation — particularly for matters regarding immigration — according to the SEIU 32BJ press release. According to this release, the College’s latest offer “falls drastically short” of campus workers’ needs.
“We hope these rallies will convince [Mount Holyoke College] to bolster its commitment to workers who keep the college running every day,” said 32BJ Executive Vice President Kevin Brown in the press release. “We deplore the federal government’s unprecedented assault on the nation’s educational institutions, and we urge the College to understand there is no better time than now to invest in their workers, for everyone’s benefit.”
During the two hours the rally took place in front of the main campus gate, about 100 students, faculty and union members were present to support the SEIU 32BJ union as cars drove by honking in support.
Workers, faculty and students went up to the microphone to speak and share their support for the union throughout the event.
Victoria Faulkner ’25, who spoke at the rally, said, “Thank you to everyone who has made every single day happen here. From the ground keepers, dining workers, people I don’t even know about cause I don’t see you because as a student we are so fundamentally removed from the workers and the workers struggles here at Mount Holyoke.”
They continued, “I think everything we do as students is to highlight your voices, you give us a voice. I don’t think that goes recognized, I don’t think that goes seen because we are not told to look for it.”
Rich Sugrue, who has worked in Mount Holyoke Dining Services for almost eight years, highlighted the focal points of the union's requests during negotiations and called for the college to put their academic values to action.
“I am proud to work at Mount Holyoke. I am proud to work at a college that is so open and inclusive. And I’m proud to work at a college that is committed to environmental justice … I’m proud to work at a college that has such a courageous and passionate student body,” he shared.
Currently some workers are making less than $35,000 to $45,000 a year according to Bill Sims, the 32BJ field representative for Dining Services and Facilities Management. While livable income depends on a person’s circumstances, according to the MIT Livable Wage Calculator, a single adult with no children living in Hampshire County needs to make $51,152 before taxes. A livable wage for a family with one working adult and two children is $122,701.
In an email to Mount Holyoke News, a representative of the College said the College has not changed their statement since the April 24 rally, after which they told Mount Holyoke News, "Mount Holyoke 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."
During the event, Brown made it clear that the union is ready to continue advocating for its workers. “We need the College to step up. We need the President of this college to instruct her bargainers to step up.”
He explained, “We’ll be out here. One day longer, one day stronger, until we get what all the workers at this college deserve: Dignity, respect, quality affordable health care, a living wage, decent retirement, and to be able to take care of your families.”
Fact-checking by Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27.