Union Theological Seminary (UTS), thought to be a progressive institution that promotes racial justice and care for its workers, is being accused to union busting tactics against the security guards, who make $17 an hour living in New York.
During the worst part of this pandemic, while other employees were hunkered down in the safety of their homes, the guards were expected to keep working to save the Seminary grounds.
However, when the guards contracted Covid-19, the institution did not support them. One guard was hospitalized with his Covid and missed a month of work. He says the institution did not support him in any way, especially financially. The guards get one week of paid vacation, he was in the hospital four weeks. The guards were essential enough to remain on the job, but not essential when they inevitably became sick.
Once healed, this guard began organizing his co-workers to unionize. His efforts paid off with a 95 percent return of signed cards, they can now petition to unionized with SIEU 32BJ.
Now with union backing, the guards are fighting for a living wage of $26 an hour, but UTS says it contracts with Allied Universal, which is a prison industrial security complex. UTS is claiming only Allied can raise the guards wages.
The UTS students and workers formed Living Wage Coalition and are accusing UTS of engaging in a “classic union-busting tactic” and that UTS decides the wages and benefits of its workers.
UTS is affiliated with Columbia University, and this fight for a living wage comes on the heels of successful Columbia graduate students fight for an additional $5 an hour in pay.
UTS claims to care for its workers, but is proving its words are platitudes that don’t feed, cloth or pay the rent of its employees. UTS is not conducting itself in a Christian manner with regard to its employees, which really surprise anyone paying attention to today’s Christians.
The Living Wage Coalition will hold a Rally in Solidarity with UTS Security Guards on Monday, April 4 at 12:30 p.m. at the corner of Broadway and 121st Street in New York. Cornel West will be the headliner.
There is also a gofundme page: Hospital Bills and Sick Pay for UTS Security Guard for two UTS guards who say they were denied their paid sick leave and healthcare for their entire working time.
More information can also be found on: instagram.com/uts.workers.solidarity
It’s time to pick a side. You want to have and keep unions with good wages and pensions, then it’s time to pick a side. You want to keep Social Security for yourself and family, it is time to pick a side. You want to get or keep Medicare and Obama’s Affordable Care Act, then it’s time to pick a side. It is us against the billionaires. The very rich got that way off the backs of workers, and now want to strip everything away from those workers. It’s time to pick a side. The very rich can buy countries, then make the people get on their hands and knees and grovel and beg for scrapes that usually go into the dumpster. It’s time to pick a side. Is this what we want for our family and our future? It’s time to pick a side. Get ready to fight for you and your families’ lives. There is no middle ground with these greedy people for they want it all—all the money—all the power—all the land so where does this leave us when they have all the commons, like water, land and airways? It’s time to pick...
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