Berea Works Because We Do! Stories from Thursday

Hey all,
 

Last Thursday, student workers took to Fairchild Lawn for a press conference to tell our stories as workers and share our vision for a better Berea. It was powerful and inspiring! You can see the full video here, a clip from FOX 56 here, and see more photos on our Instagram.

“When I first came to Berea, my first day at work, my labor supervisor looked at all of us and said that by the end of the semester half of us would have dropped out because we couldn’t handle the working conditions - she was right,” said Maggie Neal, Class of 2025, HEART. As a facilities assistant in the MAC building her freshman year, she worked the graveyard shift. “The schedule left me struggling, sleeping through my morning classes, and failing a class that I had to drop. If you get stuck with a certain position and have no voice on the job, there’s a correlation and a causal relationship with drop-outs.”

We were supported by faculty members, two of whom spoke in favor of our right to organize for a voice and better working conditions. “In Appalachia, unions are an important part of our history and culture, and we take pride in the courage people had to stand up to oppressive situations, and people fought and died so that we could have the right to unionize,” said Dr. Bobby Starnes, professor and Chair of the Appalachian Studies department. “We join with United Student Workers of Berea-CWA in calling on the College to live its values by dropping its anti-union law firm, dropping their challenges, and to allow for a democratic election this semester.”

We hope you’ll join us in sharing our Instagram stories and positive messages about how winning a democratic voice with a union is the best path to improve our working conditions and have dignity in our labor at Berea College. By signing a union authorization card and the Mission Statement, your friends and coworkers can help build a strong public majority. By coming together, building relationships, and acting in solidarity, we are building the foundation of our union.

We know that any issues being raised by the College administration about our effort to unionize are just union-busting lawyer-advised delay tactics. Work Colleges like ours are the perfect fit for robust undergraduate worker unions: there is no question that we are the workers who provide the labor that keeps our institution running. Berea works because we do. Check out our flyer for more info!

On behalf of the United Student Workers of Berea-CWA Organizing Committee,

Moira Claire, Class of 2024, Writing Consultant, Center for Teaching and Learning
Isabel Gomez, Class of 2026, Woodworker, Student Craft

ucwkentucky.org/berea
Follow, like, and share on Instagram! @uswb_cwa