A cut throat kind of cutback

As Physical Plant workers enter their ninth month of contract negotiation, the University is arguing that it’s only fair that the workers contribute the same amount for health insurance as faculty do. Unfortunately, this line of reasoning isn’t fair at all.

Comparing professors to Physical Plant workers is akin to comparing apples and oranges“or, more precisely, blue and white collar pay scales”because frankly, professors make more money than Physical Plant workers. Unlike the Physical Plant workers, professors also have a contract that ties their salaries to inflation.

We understand that all facets of the University are working to be more prudent when it comes to spending. But there is an ugly irony to the fact that in the same week that it hosts a “Social Justice Day,” Wesleyan is toeing the line of social injustice by punishing loyal workers, with years of service, for the sake of institutional cost-cutting.

Physical Plant workers argue that the proposed contract’s 2.5 percent annual raise plus a $1,000 signing bonus will actually work out as a pay cut, as it doesn’t make up for the costs of a doubled insurance expense. Health insurance is, of course, a primary concern of all Americans. This is especially true for Physical Plant workers, whose jobs are more physically demanding than those of the professors or administrators who they are being compared to.

Physical Plant workers impact students’ lives on a daily basis“perhaps even more immediately than many of the administrators who determine their salaries. Physical Plant workers may go largely unnoticed on campus, but it is important to remember that without them we might all be left in the dark and without running water or heat.

With an unsatisfactory contract on the table, and a steady stream of bad news about the economy in the background, we support Physical Plant workers in their pursuit of a fair contract. President Roth has articulated a need to effectively communicate where Wesleyan stands in the world of progressive liberal arts education. We hope that definition doesn’t come to include the ill treatment of its employees.