As many of you may know, last semester a number of the janitors who keep this campus clean initiated an effort to form a union. These janitors are employed
by Initial Cleaning Services, a contractor hired by the University. This arrangement allows Wesleyan to save money (since subcontracted janitorial services
cost about a third of what Wesleyan would pay for janitors it employed directly) while denying responsibility for the welfare of those who work on this
campus (since the janitors are Initial employees on paper). While the Administration makes off with a ‘balanced budget’, the subcontracted workers suffer: 24
out of 29 Initial janitors earn reprehensibly low wages and fall below the Federal poverty line; not one is provided with basic benefits like health insurance, a
pension, paid vacations or job security. It is precisely these conditions which led the Initial janitors to attempt to form a union last semester.

As many of you may not know, though, the janitors were successful in their unionization efforts. In spite of an unscrupulous intervention in the process by
Wesleyan’s Director of Human Resources, David Landsberg, the janitors succeeded in getting union representation. This could not have been possible
without the help of President Bennet, who duly rectified the inappropriate actions taken by some elements in his Administration. Nevertheless, the terms of
the union contract for which the janitors are fighting have yet to be settled. At the present moment, there is disagreement between the union and Initial over
three key issues: wage increases, pension benefits and a commitment to maintain full-time positions. As far as raising wages to the prevailing industry rate of
$9.40/hour is concerned, the union has offered a compromise by devising a gradual phase-in plan. Under this plan, the wages of newly hired janitors would
start at $6.50/hour and increase at three- month intervals for eighteen months until they reach the industry standard. The issue of a pension plan is at a
standstill because Initial has refused to consider it, denying Initial janitors the assurance that every other worker on this campus enjoys – the guarantee, in
other words, that a lifelong commitment to an employer entitles a worker to security in retirement and old age. Finally, Initial has refused to ensure that all
janitorial workers will continue to be hired on a full-time basis. Since it is only full-time employees (those who work 40+ hours/week) that are covered by the
union contract, Initial’s unwillingness to commit to keeping full-time positions for the janitors insultingly undermines their unionization efforts.

Although these disagreements are ostensibly between Initial and the union, the University has the final say in what happens. Since Initial is on Wesleyan’s
payroll, Initial cannot agree to raise the wages of its workers and provide them with benefits until the University has provided them with the additional money
necessary to do so. Because Wesleyan controls the purse strings, the decision to accept or reject the union contract ultimately belongs to the University. As
much as the Bennet Administration may claim to the contrary, it is plain that the University is responsible for the fate of the Initial janitors.

We must realize that a settled union contract reflects a win-win situation for all. For the janitors, it means a chance to eliminate poverty and the constant fears
that accompany financial insecurity. In the final analysis, what they are asking for is modest. At the same time, the Bennet Administration can still comfort
itself with the knowledge that the school is saving money;.even with higher wages and a benefits package, the Administration would still pay less for the
subcontracted janitors than if Wesleyan employed these same workers directly. Perhaps more importantly, the Administration can prove that it is a
responsible and right-minded leader in the fight against poverty in the Middletown area. In such a situation, what is there to debate?

President Bennet has the power to make sure that the union contract is negotiated fairly and in good faith. He has the responsibility to ensure that a living
wage and basic benefits are guaranteed for all workers on this campus. Late last semester, more than 1,400 students and faculty members put their names to a
petition urging his Administration to do just that. President Bennet, can you still hear us?