Town Hall tonight! Berean values are union values

Hey all,

It’s been so exciting to see everyone out on campus, wearing red on Thursday, wearing our wristbands and buttons - we are growing our movement each day. We are organizing with a collective vision to form a union for autonomy, dignity, and respect. When we join together for a democratic voice in our jobs, we are strengthening and bettering our community. It’s in our Mission Statement: We strive to uphold the democratic tradition pursued by our founder John G. Fee as well as Berea College’s Fourth Great Commitment: “to honor the dignity and utility of all work, mental and manual.”

Our effort to win a democratic voice in our workplace matches Berean principles and values of equality and impartial love. Our view is that the commitment to honor the dignity of labor means respecting our right to form a union and bargain collectively.

The College administration is arguing at the National Labor Relations Board this week that we do not have a right to have a union election at all. We are confident we will win and a union election will be held, but we are disappointed in the Administration's attempts to delay our democratic right to an election, and a union. It is counter to our values and we hope they will change course.

Let’s build this union together! Come to tonight’s Town Hall at the Russel Acton Folk Center at 6pm. We’ll talk together about what it feels like to see the College’s response so far to our organizing, why we are taking this step, and how each day we continue to be visible and public in our support for a union, we step closer to having an election this semester. There will be food and union swag. RSVP now!  

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

Carlos Rodriguez-Tyree, Second Year, Lab Assistant, Engineering Technologies and Applied Design
Cora House, Third Year, Community Based Program Associate, CELTS

ucwkentucky.org/berea