UNC Housekeepers Demand Improved Working Conditions and Dignity
Workers and student supporters protesting near the Well. Source for photo: UE Union
On February 22, UNC Housekeepers held rallies in downtown Raleigh and in front of South Building on UNC’s campus. The goal was to bring public attention to their ongoing efforts of pressuring the UNC Board of Governors for improved working conditions and higher wages, as well as advocating for the state government to repeal a law prohibiting collective bargaining on the part of public-sector employees. Parallel to increased labor organizing around the country and a moderately advantageous labor market for workers, UNC Housekeepers have likewise intensified their recent organizing efforts.
Labor organizing on UNC’s campus extends as far back as the 1930s when a group of mostly Black facilities workers formed the Janitors Association, successfully winning wage increases. In 1969, dining and cafeteria workers along with members of the Black Student Movement at UNC organized the Food Workers Strike that lasted for months, again resulting in increased wages. In the early 1990’s, the Housekeepers Association was formed, which eventually joined forces with the North Carolina Public Service Workers Union. Soon after, the housekeepers decided to ultimately make their home with the United Electrical, Radio, & Machine Workers (UE), where current efforts now take place.
Over the past year, UNC Housekeepers have intensified their organizing, garnering local attention. Their most immediate demands are for higher wages, with a starting base pay of $20-an-hour, and free parking on campus. While union members contend that the UNC Administration is not adequately addressing its demands, they believe that their pressure is starting to pay off and the administration is taking notice. Additionally, just before the rallies, housekeepers announced that they had been offered retention bonuses, although free parking was left unaddressed. In December, housekeepers were offered a 90-cent pay raise, but members say this still falls almost three dollars short of their demanded wage.
Many, however, are unhappy about the stipulations attached to the bonus structure. Workers that receive the bonus are required to sign a contract that says if they leave UNC before a year’s time, either voluntarily or involuntarily, they must pay back the money received. “How does a thank you come with strings attached?” asked one housekeeper. Others went even further, asserting the money is “hush money to shut us up,” likening the bonuses to bribery and indentured servitude. In general, many viewed the bonuses as a way to get the union to drop calls for further wage increases and noted the lasting benefits of higher wages versus the temporary nature of one bonus.
Aside from their demands of the administration, current union organizing is centered around engaging with workers on campus to increase membership and prepare for the election of chapter officers in the future. In short, greater numbers increase the union’s bargaining power and facilitates greater organizational capacity. In addition, federal labor law stipulates that a union must have a certain number of members to be considered an active chapter and allows for the election of officers. While a representative of the national UE is currently assisting the housekeepers, he said his ultimate goal is to “help the workers build a self-sustaining organization for themselves.” Although membership has grown, some individuals contend that there are concerns among many non-union workers about joining or participating in union activities. Members cited “bullying tactics” by some managers leading to worries about retaliation and job loss.
Discussions about worries and fears ultimately touch on the underlying tensions and opportunities at the heart of the housekeepers’ complaints, as well as the very reasons for their mobilizing efforts. On the one hand, the joyfulness and optimism in the air, as well as the camaraderie that workers displayed in a recent weekly organizing meeting was juxtaposed by the frustration vocalized by many of the union members at working conditions, dismissals by the UNC Administration, and the need for new members. One leading organizer brought up staffing concerns in many of the departments and the resulting workloads, saying, “you’re just exhausted by the time you get home… just wiped out.” In turn, the representative from the national organization did something that the housekeepers said they have longed desired from the UNC Administration – to be felt heard, validated, and valued in their dignity as integral parts of the UNC system – “Look, at the end of the day, the union fights with you, not for you.” In this simple turn of phrase, he did not offer a paternalistic or patronizing dismissal, but an extension of solidarity.
Indeed, every step of the way in their meeting, the members created a collaborative space where everyone’s input felt valued. When press releases were read and strategies were decided upon, collective agreement was always required. Even the meeting itself was initiated by going around the room and asking each member to point out one good aspect of the previous rally and one thing that could be improved upon in the future.
More importantly, the housekeepers meeting represents a tangible extension of democracy into the personal lives of workers. In general, democratic participation is usually confined to voting in elections, staying informed about current events, signing petitions, and even campaigning for political candidates. Although these are touted as the ways for citizens to engage with and influence one’s democracy, these are not the only avenues. For a number of factors, there exists a peculiar separation between the world of politics and that of economics. We are conditioned that economics and the free-market are natural and self-regulating phenomena and as such are somehow above the need for democratic-regulatory interference. However, given that economic organization has such an immense impact on the lives of individuals, should they not have a say in the way the economy is organized? Should the relationship between employers and employees reflect a truly negotiable partnership in which both parties are legitimately allowed to participate and be heard?
For the housekeepers organizing on UNC’s campus, this broader ideal of democratic struggle is perfectly aligned with their immediate demands. While narrowly, workers are fighting for increased wages and the ability to sustain themselves and their families, they also acknowledge that at the heart of their efforts, they are fighting for a more authentic participatory democracy. Their work represents a continuation of historical and contemporary democratic expansion – in this case, the radical extension of democratic ideals into the economic sphere. In this way, the struggle of UNC Housekeepers is not one in which they are the sole beneficiaries, but one in which we all collectively benefit.