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.
Worker rally draws campus attention as contract negotiations continue
Students and professors joined staff from Dining Services and Residential Life outside the main campus gate of Mount Holyoke College on Thursday, April 24, in support of the Service Employees International Union — also known as SEIU — 32BJ labor union and the group’s current contract negotiations with the College’s administration.
Mount Holyoke suffers staffing shortages
Mount Holyoke College is facing the same staffing shortages that have been affecting the rest of the country since the start of the pandemic. Employment in the United States is down nearly 3 million jobs from March 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with about half of those jobs coming from the food industry. The 1.5 million workers who have not yet returned make up about 12 percent of the food industry’s workforce.