7/31/2019 Becker Workers Cancel Vote. Will management make promised changes?

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52 Roland Street, Charlestown, MA 02129www.seiu888.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: RandWilson

July 12, 2012 (617) 949-9720

The Becker College facilities workers who have been working to win their collective bargainingrights decided to withdraw their petition at a meeting on Wednesday, July 11.

"We had strong majority support, but since management started using union-busting tactics tofrustrate our efforts, we no longer have the votes to win," said Craig Moreau, a six-year maintenance

employee at Becker.

In a letter to employees, the Becker College Facilities Union pledged to continue working together to

win long overdue changes and called on college president Robert Johnson to:

Provide health insurance for all Becker workers who qualify for it;

Fix the pay inequities and settle several wage theft complaints;

Adhere to the college employee handbook that prohibits employees from supervising relatives;

Treat everyone with dignity and respect.

Becker management hired a high-priced law firm and bought an expensive union-busting "PR"package that included strategies to stop the union, sample anti-union letters to all employees and slick

videos disparaging SEIU. Workers were paid to watch the videos during their regular work hours andsupervisors and managers met with workers one-on-one and in small groups to convince them to vote

against collective bargaining.

"Becker College enjoys tax-free status and relies on public support for many of the tuition dollars it

receives from students," said SEIU Local 888 president Mark DelloRusso. "The money it spent on

tearing down the facilities workers' efforts for a voice at work could have been better spent onimproving their wages and working conditions."

As Becker workers formed their union, they received strong support from the Worcester CentralLabor Council, Jobs with Justice, Neighbor to Neighbor, Teamsters Local 170, the WorcesterCommunity Labor Coalition and many elected officials from Worcester and Leicester.

"We are really grateful for the community support we have received," said Moreau. "Now that wearen't going forward with the election, we are going to continue to need support to pressure Becker

management to make good on its promises."

A chronology documenting the facilities workers' efforts to win their collective bargaining

rights and management's aggressive interference to stop them is available from Local 888.

7/31/2019 Becker Workers Cancel Vote. Will management make promised changes?

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SEIU Local 888 unites more than 8,500 public service, higher education and not-for-profit workers in

Massachusetts. Learn more at: www.seiu888.org.