Unions
Lampoon College
By
Rachel Decker
On
Friday, Nov. 8, approximately 100 people gathered in front of the
arch in Tappan Square to hold a mock funeral for the “spirit
of Oberlin.” The majority of the assembly were Oberlin College
Office and Professional Employees union members and United Auto
Workers union members, although a number of College students and
faculty also participated.
The two Unions came together in order to express their belief that
the spirit of Oberlin, once rich in honesty, respect, integrity,
commitment and fair-play, has “died.” Protestors bore
picket signs bearing lists of these values they believe now long
gone in the College, as well as slogans such as “Is Oberlin
Dyeing?”
This demonstration arose in light of the College management’s
decision, made last week, to eliminate 11 staff positions as well
as to reduce the number of months per year or weekly hours of five
others. Six of the 11 jobs eliminated belonged to OCOPE members.
The other five employees were part of the administrative and professional
staff who worked in the financial management and fundraising offices.
Protestors took the funeral theme to the extreme, most dressing
in black for the occasion. Female employees circulated a plastic
bag of pieces of black netting they used as veils to cover their
faces. A wooden coffin was laid on the grass in the center of the
crowd while remarks were made by various Union members. It was later
taken up by four “pallbearers,” heading up a procession
of the protestors that walked the edge of Wilder Bowl, past Mudd
and finally through the center of Cox.
OCOPE President Diane Lee made the opening remarks, written in the
style of a eulogy in which she nostalgically spoke of the College
as it used to be, comparing it to its current state.
“The College is now taking great strides not to excel —
to be average,” she said.
Lee went on to comment on the stubborn stance the Administration
has taken with regard to discussion about the College’s financial
plight. Both OCOPE and the UAW allege that no negotiation occurred
between them and the Administration throughout its decision to lay
off employees. “We lost our jobs outright,” she said.
“The management had no interest in sitting down and talking
with us.”
Yet College President Nancy Dye disagrees. “There has been
a great deal of consultation with the Unions about our current financial
situation,” she said.
Dye also continues to hold firmly to her stance that the College
did all it could to not cut staff positions but last week simply
did what was needed.
Following Lee’s remarks, Robert Aviles, Chair of the UAW,
spoke passionately of the callous attitude he believes is now being
exhibited by the Administration towards the unions and those laid
off.
“Our problems are ours alone now even though we didn’t
create them. We didn’t cause the deficit. We’re here
today to show the management, that office right across the street,
that we’re willing to work with them,” he said. “But
firing us is not going to solve the problem.”
Aviles also spoke about the relationship the College employees once
had with the management.
“It was once a family. We cared about them. Somewhere along
the line, they stopped caring about us,” he stated.
Following the procession around Wilder Bowl, Kristen Jones, one
of the 11 employees laid off by the College, spoke on the east steps
of Cox to the crowd. “After I found out I had lost my job,
the first thing I did was go and turn down my heat. I didn’t
know how I was going to pay my gas bill,” she stated.
Jones went on to talk of the decline of values she believes Oberlin
has demonstrated recently. “Oberlin no longer has any empathy
for individuals of the community,” she said. “I feel
sorry for the students. This is not a good example of how individuals
should be treated. Where is the principle? The integrity?”
Another
union member cut to half-time staff from her full-time position
stated that the College had alleged that her credentials were a
problem, although they had never been a problem prior. She stated
she was never given a straight answer by the management as to why
they had made the decision to cut her hours. Much later, she was
told it was a “money thing.”
Although
the mood of the protest was by no means markedly angry, it is evident
that many College employees and Union members have been hurt not
only financially by the Administration’s decision to eliminate
staff positions, but also by the disregard of the relationship they
believed they had with the management.
“I
had believed in this College,” said Jones. “It is where
I wanted to make my career. And after six years, I was basically
told, ‘Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.’” |