Fair Contract Campaign

The Current Campaign!
The contract for clerical workers on campus comes up for renogotiation next spring in July of 2010.

Currently, the union and SOUL have begun preliminary contact and discussions with campus workers. This campaign is just getting started, so it is a perfect time to get involved!

Background: What's in a contract campaign?
In the spring of 2010, the contract for clerical workers on campus will come up for negotiation. This means that representatives from the University and from the union (Teamsters Local 743), which represents and bargains on behalf of the clerical workers, sit down to discuss and make changes to the contract. The contract decides things such as wages, hours, and other aspects of work and is crucial in protecting workers' rights and ensuring a respectable, dignified workplace. Once the language of the contract is decided between the negotiators, the rank-and-file of the bargaining unit (the clerical workers) are given time to read and consider the proposed contract before they vote. If the majority of workers approve the contract, then negotiations end and the contract is implemented. If the majority of workers reject the contract, the University and the union go back to negotiations and the process begins again.

The process of contract negotiations can look very different depending on how willing the University is to agree with union demands and how the the workers react in elections. The process can be quick (one round of negotiations) or long (several rounds). As was the case in 2007, when the workers rejected the contract, the union and the workers may respond with rallies and other actions. In more extreme situations, workers may even choose to strike.

Why student involvement?
SOUL has a history of working in solidarity with workers and Teamsters Local 743 in contract campaigns. As students who pay tuition to the University, we not only have a responsibility to make sure our University treats its workers with respect, but a unique position to pressure the University into doing what is right. When students and workers are able to work together as a unified body against the University, our voice and our ability to effect a change in University policy is amplified. A strong relationship between workers and students on campus is one step towards ensuring a socially just environment for everyone on campus--whether they are workers or students.