To the Editors:

As students we stand in solidarity with the Oberlin College Office and Professional Employees Union (OCOPE), United Auto Workers (UAW) and other unions on campus. We see the connection between their struggles and ours and believe that we have the power and responsibility to challenge unjust policies in our community.

We as students invest thousands of dollars in an institution that claims to stand for social justice and diversity. Yet its actions consistently marginalize many of the groups that are part of this community. The administration’s financial policies over the years have shown us that they often prioritize their own salaries and agenda over campus workers, working class students, students of color, queer and transgender students and the surrounding town community.

When we challenge these policies, they often tell us that we can’t make decisions about the College – especially about the budget – because we are not well-informed about how it works. But how can we be informed when financial decisions are made behind closed doors and demands to open the books are ignored? We want union and student voices not just to be heard, but to be an integral part of decision-making at this college.

As students we want to acknowledge how important union workers are to the functioning of our school and our day-to-day life. Oberlin College would not run without OCOPE, UAW, OCSA and all of the workers who help us register for classes, copy handouts, maintain the dorms and classrooms, cook and serve food in the dining halls and so many more things that may go unrecognized. We appreciate and value the work that labor does here and that is one reason why it’s so important for us to support the unions as they fight for a just contract. We believe a strike is avoidable if the College comes back to the table to negotiate with the unions.

While the administration does not always listen to us, we are the ones who this institution is supposedly serving and we are the ones paying tuition. Thus, we have a responsibility to rise up and claim a voice in these decisions that affect all of us. We must stand in solidarity with the OC unions and demand that Oberlin College’s dedication to social justice be not just a marketing tool, but a commitment to the entire community. Oberlin College, come back to the table!

—Emma Blose
College senior
—Rebecca Tumposky
College senior

Editor’s note: 128 additional signatures are listed at the bottom of the page.

OCOPE employee worried by lack of respect

To the Editors:

Last Friday, just in time for the long holiday weekend, OCOPE members received letters at home from Ruth Spencer, OC Human Resource Director. This latest letter outlined the benefits we’d lose in case of a strike, as well as detailing the cost of COBRA premiums to continue health care benefits in a strike situation (almost $1200 per month for family coverage). The letter said that members who crossed the picket line and continued to work would maintain their benefits and also reminded us three times that striking was entirely up to us.

The contents of the letter were unnerving, but predictable given the current state of negotiations between the College and OCOPE. I was more outraged by the envelope in which it arrived. It was addressed to both me and my husband.

My husband is not an employee of the College. Why was this letter addressed to him?

Could it be because the great majority of OCOPE members are female? Were the husbands being called in to talk some sense to the little ladies and get this foolish “strike idea” out of our heads? Was the purpose to create family discord? Maybe we hadn’t told our husbands about the state of negotiations and boy oh boy, there would be hell to pay when they found out how close this all is to a strike.

OCOPE members have long suspected that the College doesn’t value and respect us as much as other employee groups. This letter sealed it for me. I can hardly imagine a scenario where HR would send a letter to a faculty member or administrator about his/her job and address the letter jointly to their significant other. Are we disrespected because we are women? Or because most of us don’t have strings of initials following our names?

My husband was outraged by the letter, but only at Oberlin College. So, I guess it didn’t work. If the College is interested, I’d be happy to forward them my parents’ home address. Maybe they can talk some sense into their daughter.

–Jennifer Schreiner
Assistant Science Librarian

What is the College administration hiding?

To the Editors,

As a freshman here, I most likely know less about the current OCOPE issue than the average student. However, what I have noticed during my days here is that the administration of the College is not making a good impression. Unlike the August 26 OCOPE letter that was distributed to the College community, the administration’s bulletins to students have refused to state a single detail about the contract in question. The OCOPE letter has the audacity to address and discuss dollars, insurance and other benefits. What does the administration not want to tell us?

–Ezra Pincus-Roth
College first-year

The following names also appeared signed to the lead letter:

Renata Strause, senior; Anne Misak, sophomore; John Gallup, senior; Marshall Duer-Balkind, junior; Shelley Irvin, senior; Zachary Webber, senior; Maya M. Bajak, sophomore; Megan Shaughnessy-Mogill, senior; Alanna Dancis, junior; Alexa Punnamkuzhyil, first-year; Alie Plotsky, sophomore; Alison Dennis, senior; Amanda Franz, senior; Andrew Kurtz, first-year; Anna VanderHorst, first-year; Annie Chow, sophomore; Arthur Richards, junior; Ashley Suarez, junior; Ashlynn Manning, senior; Assiatou Diallo, first-year; Avery Books, senior; Becca Glaser, sophomore; Ben Korn, first-year; Benjamin Regenspan, first-year; Brittany Taylor, first-year; Caitlin Reid, sophomore; Carl Hurvich, senior; Cat Wolner, first-year; Catherine Thornton-Stocks, senior; Celeste Eustis, sophomore; Charlie Sohne, sophomore; Christopher Dykas, senior; Claire Comfort, sophomore; Claire Miller, sophomore; Dana Cohen, senior; Danielle Koplinka-Loehr, first-year; Danielle Levine, junior; David Giusti, first-year; David Kreiss-Tomkins, senior; David Reese, junior; David Wessels, sophomore; Deborah Galaski, sophomore; Diana Fleisher, senior; Diana Grotheer, senior; Dwight Carey, junior; Elana Klein, senior; Elise Sipos, sophomore; Elizabeth Johnson, sophomore; Elizabeth Maki, sophomore; Emily Doubilet, junior; Emily Magorian, sophomore; Emily Newhouse, first-year; Emily Wexler, senior; Emma Richards, sophomore; Emma Rubin, sophomore; Eric Blokland, junior; Eric Zibbel, junior; Erin Eck, senior; Ezra S. Pincus-Roth, first-year; Florence Edwards, senior; Fumiko Osada, junior; Gillian Weitz-Clancy, sophomore; Grant Huling, sophomore; Hannah Alpert-Abrams, sophomore; Helen Lee, first-year; Ina Kelleher, first-year; Jane Feustel, junior; Janet Ackerman, sophomore; Jason Lindgren, senior; Jeff Conor, first-year; Jeffrey Young, sophomore; Joe Kimmel, junior; Jon Pumilia, sophomore; Joseph Broadus, sophomore; Justin Cihi, sophomore; Karen Frenchu, first-year; Kate Shapiro, junior; Kate Weinberger, junior; Katherine Erickson, junior; Kathleen Knudson, sophomore; Ken Elder, first-year; Laura Boffa, first-year; Laura Einsel, first-year; Leah Falk, senior; Leah Kasell, sophomore; Lee Davis, senior; Lee Fogel, sophomore; Leo Famulari, first-year; Lincoln Dominie, senior; Lydia Pelot-Hobbs, sophomore; Lynn Gerbec, sophomore; Lynne Stewart, first-year; Madeleine Hogue, senior; Marisa Beltramini, first-year; Maya Curry, first-year; Michael Beharie, sophomore; Michael Fruhwald, junior; Michael Pelch, sophomore; Michi Osato, first-year; Myrth Killingsworth, first-year; Nathaniel Tuohy, senior; Nina Sarnelle, sophomore; Rachael Wylie, senior; Rachel Green, sophomore; Rachel Leibson, first-year; Richard Aszling, senior; Ronnie Ginach, first-year; Sarah E. Dunn, junior; Sarah Schreiber, senior; Sarah Walter, sophomore; Satoko Kanahara, junior; Saul Flores, first-year; Sean O’Brien, first-year; Seth Auster-Rosen, junior; Shane MacDonald, first-year; Sophia Simon-Ortiz, first-year; Stacey Litner, junior; Stephanie Blanchard, sophomore; Stephanie Patterson, sophomore; Taylor Bibat, sophomore; Teresita Prieto, first-year; Tess Webre, sophomore; Tom Hoberg, senior; Tristan Jones, sophomore; Walker Evans, junior; Whit Forrester, sophomore; Yan Slobodkin, first-year; Zoe Fisher, first-year