By now the effort to organize an undergraduate student workers union at Clark is public. In order to create a better understanding as to why this is happening, I will share some of the reasons I support this effort.
Since the fall semester of 2023, I have held a position in the Clark University Facilities Management Grounds Department. Yes, the people who drive around in the loud carts and wake you up early in the morning. This job is my only source of income and I rely on it to pay for rent, groceries, utility bills and medical expenses. Our department has the privilege of getting really good hours (20 hours a week), but we get paid $15 an hour for work, far below the market rate (which is around $35). Some other departments are not so lucky and receive only a handful of hours a week. Far before the organization effort started, I had some issues with my job, but I figured there was nothing I could do about it, therefore, I left it alone.
When I was put in contact with the Teamsters Union organizers, who have been helping this effort, they explained that all of these issues I had could be easily solved. Clark just chooses to ignore them under the notion that the University has no money, which is a blatant lie. Lest we forget, according to public records presented by ProPublica, President David Fithian made $989,534 in salary in 2023 plus an additional $103,042 bonus. Moreover in 2023, the University raised $30 million in alumni donations, or that Clark does not have tuition locks allowing them to continue raising our tuition year after year.
All this money is floating around, yet we cannot afford new tires for the carts we have to drive in the snow. We are not issued jackets for the winter, despite having to work in sub-zero temperatures, and get called into work even if classes are canceled for the day. Fellow employees, who shall remain nameless for their protection, have been injured on the job and had to pay for their own medical expenses because Clark does not provide us with worker’s compensation. Another employee had been making $14.50 an hour, which is under minimum wage, with no explanation. These are just some of the issues my department faces. Entire other departments, such as the Entrepreneurship and Innovation program, have been cut or completely lost funding with no warning to the students they employ.
The effort to organize the undergraduate workers will help all student workers at Clark. In unity, we have power. Even if you do not have a job, I can assure you this effort still does affect someone you care about or know. Clark pretends they are doing us a favor by offering us employment, but that is another lie.
Our campus relies on student workers to function, think of the walk you take from your dorm to the dining hall. You will leave the building, pass by your resident advisor , then you may see ground employees picking up trash. You will pass by academic buildings which all have different departments run by student office workers. Upon entering UC, the mailroom staff sits above your head organizing mail, and the information desk workers sit ready to answer questions, all of which are undergraduate student employees.
Yet, our labor is being exploited for cheap wages and the constant threat of your department being erased without warning looms over. We all deserve adequate wages for our work, security in employment and overall safety. Clark is more than able to provide this for their students, but they choose to funnel funding into new properties to expand the university in the coming decades, rather than listening to the needs of their current students. For more information or ways to get involved, please reach out to the Clark University Undergraduate Student Workers Instagram @cu.ugwu or myself if you do not have social media.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on Jan. 27, 2025 at 10:20 a.m. to reflect post-publication corrections and edits.
