A Second Letter Delivered to Bassett

On Monday students hand-delivered a more explicit letter to President Bassett and Provost Angel representing the third piece of communication between Clark Unite! and Clark Administration.


Dear President Bassett,

We appreciate your response to our letter. However, it falls short of the commitments that Clark University, its faculty, and student body have to our community. We are not asking that Clark simply ensure its subcontractors follow the National Labor Relations Act, which was written for a 1930's employment environment. We are asking that Clark uphold its motto to "challenge convention and change our world" by holding itself and its contractors to a higher standard of neutrality.

With the NLRA as a minimum standard, SEIU Local 615 is currently pursuing two Unfair Labor Practices that have taken place at Clark. These include supervisors illegally attending a union meeting on January 15th and Sodexo disciplining union supporter Michelle Roman in retaliation for her support for the union on January 20th.

Sodexo is also employing anti-union tactics that current law allows, but that are a direct contradiction to Clark’s values and commitment to community. Clark must address all of these issues in order to maintain its position as a leader in social responsibility.

We recognize your stated desire to uphold Clark’s values and monitor the organizing process at Sodexo. However, as Clark University currently lacks the necessary mechanisms to do this, it is imperative that Clark adopt the following policies:

1. That Clark University demand that Sodexo maintain a policy of neutrality towards the organizing process. Adopting neutrality will prevent Sodexo from employing coercive tactics through contractual agreement.

2. That Clark University shall demand recognition of card check or majority sign up from Sodexo.

3. That Clark University notifies employees and subcontracted employees both of their right to organize and their right to participate, or not, free of punishment.

4. That Clark University works to adopt the proposed Campus Labor Code of Conduct in a timely manner.

5. That all Clark University contracts be made public information starting immediately with Clark's contract with Sodexo.

We look forward to your partnership in building a stronger, more vibrant, and responsible employment environment for members of the Clark community. We would like to ask for a meeting during the first week of March to discuss these issues further with you and Provost David Angel. Please contact Sasha Susman at ssusman@clarku.edu or sasha.susman@gmail.com, or through campus mail at Box # 1986.

Sincerely,

Clark Unite!

CC: Provost David Angel, Dean Walter Wright, Jack Foley, Chairman William Mosakowski, The Board of Trustees, Undergraduate Student Council, Graduate Student Council, Paul Wykes