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November 15, 2002
Discussing
Fair Labor
Maving educated both
the current secretary of labor, Elaine L. Chao '75, and Franklin
Delano Roosevelt's secretary of labor, Frances Perkins, class
of 1902, Mount Holyoke boasts a long connection to fair labor
practices on the federal level. Equally committed to the safety
and dignity of workers on its own campus, MHC has established
a committee to review the College's labor practices and to
craft a fair labor practices code of conduct for Mount Holyoke.
Formal review of College
labor practices began last spring. At the recommendation of a
group of their peers, faculty members voted unanimously that the
College should adopt a code of conduct that defines its commitment
to fair labor practices. A number of faculty and students concerned
about fair labor practices on campus sought help with the project
from the Advisory Committee on Multicultural Community and College
Life (MCCL), which takes up issues that are brought to it by staff
members, students, or faculty.
"Part of the
MCCL's charge is thinking about the College as a diverse
community," said Mary Renda, MCCL committee chair and associate
professor of history. "We had already been having conversations
about class and classism on campus, and labor issues are very
relevant to those conversations. The MCCL seemed to be the appropriate
body to take on this project."
The MCCL began its
work by forming a subcommittee with representatives from many
constituencies of the MHC community: Staff and administrative
members of the MCCL Fair Labor Subcommittee are Frances Benson,
custodian for Facilities Management; Dina Bevivino, senior administrative
assistant in the development office; Rochelle Calhoun, acting
dean of the College and vice president for student affairs; Sandra
Suarez, senior administrative assistant in the president's
office; and Susan Pliner, coordinator of the Speaking, Arguing,
and Writing Program. Amaris Elliott-Engel '03 represents
MHC students. Faculty members are Renda and Craig Woodard, associate
professor of biological sciences.
Since August, the
subcommittee has been meeting weekly to get acquainted with MHC's
employment divisions and supervisory structures, establish a process
for gathering and disseminating information on campus, and learn
about the issues relevant to fair employment practices. In October,
the subcommittee began a series of meetings to engage the MHC
community in conversations about fair labor practices on campus
and will continue these meetings through early February. Questions
being considered include: What constitutes a fair workplace, and
how will we know when we have achieved it? In what ways do you
think the College is already committed to fairness? Is there some
standard we want to set for fairness and wages? Do you think Mount
Holyoke should commit to paying a living wage to all employees?
What are your hopes for a fair labor code of conduct? What are
your fears and concerns? What should be included in Mount Holyoke's
code? What else should the Fair Labor Practices Subcommittee be
aware of when we make our recommendation?
Employees can be of
special assistance to the subcommittee by considering these questions
in relation to their own workplaces. The group is eager to hear:
What is fair, and what is unfair, in your employment situation
at the College? What do you like about your workplace the way
it is now? What would you like to see changed? How fair are existing
policies? Are there policies you would like to see ended or added?
How well are existing policies enforced? The subcommittee will
also gather local data on issues such as the living wage. Renda
hopes that the subcommittee will be able to recommend an MHC code
of fair labor practices to President Joanne Creighton this spring.
In addition to meetings
with small groups of MHC faculty, supervisory staff, nonsupervisory
staff, students, and administrators, the subcommittee has scheduled
open forums at which any member of the MHC community can share
ideas about what constitutes fair labor and what should be included
in the College's fair labor practices code of conduct. The
open forums will be held in Mary Woolley Hall's New York
Room Monday, November 18, 4–5:30 pm and Wednesday, November
20, 7–8:30 pm. Refreshments will be served. Lauren Turner,
director of human resources, has announced that every employee
on campus has the right to attend an open forum during his or
her workday.
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