An Open Letter to the President of Dartmouth College

January 19, 2010

Dear President Kim:

As we prepare for our first bargaining sessions, we wish to address an issue of deep concern for the Dartmouth community.

You will shortly introduce a deficit reduction proposal to the college Trustees. This proposal has the potential to cause great harm to many people and there has not been sufficient time to create a truly meaningful dialogue. This proposal will negatively impact not only our members but also the larger community of faculty, staff, students and neighborhood business owners.

In a recent letter from Deborah Grant, Director of Human Services – People Services dated January 18, 2010, addressed to the Union the administration has staked out a timeline of February, March, and April of this year in which lay-offs of staff will be imposed by the college.

We believe in allowing sufficient time for the collective bargaining process to work. A timeline this short will only guarantee an increased level of acrimony. It will prevent us from building the trust and mutual respect we desperately need to address the crisis.

Therefore, we request a moratorium on all lay-offs, furloughs, contracting-out, cuts in hours and short staffing until we can bargain over these and other issues. We are sure that many other Dartmouth College stakeholders would also welcome further input and discussion on the plan and its impacts.

We realize that the college faces financial challenges and we know that difficult choices may lie ahead. However, we must remind you that as working people we know something about sacrifice, about disappointment and loss. We are no strangers to hard times as we struggle everyday of our lives.

Our members are proud to be part of the Dartmouth community that produces clean buildings, healthy food, strong infrastructure, well maintained grounds, and a safe environment. However, if service and maintenance workers are laid off and jobs are sub-contracted, the campus community will certainly see services deteriorate. And the broader community will see good jobs that support families replaced by minimum wage jobs without health care - the norm within the non-union service sector.

All organizations confront crises that eventually test their leadership, their resolve and their mission. At such moments, there is always a choice between paths that will unite people or divide people. We believe the proposed plan divides our community and plays to our weaknesses rather than to our strengths.

As an institution committed to the pursuit of knowledge we should all embrace collaborative solutions that foster innovation and creativity. Our members are committed to working with you to help Dartmouth reach its fiscal goals while preserving the tradition of caring and community that is the cornerstone of the “Dartmouth Experience.”

Sincerely,


Earl F Sweet
President SEIU Local 560
Vice President District 2 NH. AFL-CIO