On Saturday, the steps of Jesse hall were crowded by people in orange shirts holding signs that demanded better labor conditions.
LiUNA! Local 955 is the University of Missouri’s workers union who for the past couple of months has been in negotiations with the University for a new contract.
Within it, the union asks for a competitive pay that adjusts to inflation, a new attendance policy and better working conditions.
However, union representatives said that the negotiations were not only taking too long, but university departments couldn’t come to an agreement over what the new contracts should hold.
Andrew Hutchinson is the union’s representative. He says an example of the disagreement came during a discussion of an attendance policy that would allow more flexibility for workers who arrive late at work.
“So, we put forth a proposal asking for an up to five minute grace period,” Hutchinson said.
The University, while apprehensive in the first round of negotiations during August, brought forth a proposal that would allow for a grace period of tardiness.
The union tentatively agreed and was ready to move forward until it heard from campus facilities officials.
“Campus facilities, which is where many of our workers work, said, ‘Oh, we would never implement this,’” Hutchinson said.
Saturday was not the first time the union protested against the university. In 2020, workers took to the streets to protest against MU potentially outsourcing landscaping custodial staff. Mark Perrigo, who recently retired from more than 30 years of working at MU, remembered joining this fight to keep jobs local.
The university decided against outsourcing but said they did not weigh union activities in the decision. MU spokesperson Christian Basi said they instead weighed financial and logistic factors. The union, however, said its presence most likely influenced the decision, as well.
“So yes, we can win,” Perrigo said. “We just need community support.”
The Young Democratic Socialists of Mizzou, Jobs with Justice and various community members joined the workers in solidarity.
Mel Tully, with the Young Democratic Socialists of Mizzou, stood alongside the union during the protest. She said students can be powerful allies of university workers.
“If students are really mad about this, they do have leverage that workers don't,” Tully said. “It's important that we have this partnership and maintain it however we can, because the university needs to hear as many voices as possible from a variety of perspectives.”
Hutchinson holds out hope that the university will listen to its workforce and return to the bargaining table in good faith. He said past union victories and local support add to his optimism.
“We're here because we're asking the university to step up and do the right thing,” Hutchinson said. “They've done it in the past. We're hopeful that they'll do it this time.”
Union officials say they’ve reached out to the university to set a new negotiation date and are waiting to hear back. There is no current contract deadline.
