Letter to the Editor: Faculty voice support for wage increase
October 28, 2019
To the Editor:
We applaud the College’s administration for the decision to substantially raise wages of staff in a progressive manner. We also applaud the workers who bravely spoke out about concerning conditions here, and pushed the College to do our best to honor our commitment to the Common Good. While we understand the importance of market forces in determining wages, we think the College should be leading, not following, the market, in all aspects of labor practices. Workers with particularly challenging jobs and personal financial circumstances should be treated most conscientiously, both because it is the right thing to do, and because it will benefit the College in the long run.
Moreover, we commend the Bowdoin Labor Alliance and other students and alumni who invested considerable time and effort in advocating with these workers and educating the community, and the Orient for their thoughtful reporting and commentary on this issue. The College takes great pride in our students’ many achievements. We should also be proud, perhaps especially, when our students provide constructive input with the goal of making the College a better place.
We look forward to more actions that bring us together for the improvement of the well-being of all in our community.
Sincerely,
Mark Battle, Professor of Physics
Meryem Belkaid, Assistant Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures
Barbara Weiden Boyd, Winkley Professor of Latin and Greek
Aviva Briefel, Professor of English and Cinema Studies
Judith Casselberry, Associate Professor of Africana Studies
Nadia Celis, Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures
Connie Chiang, Professor of History and Environmental Studies
Eric Chown, Sarah and James Bowdoin Professor of Digital and Computational Studies
Javier Cikota, Assistant Professor of History
Rachel Connelly, Bion R. Cram Professor of Economics
Dallas Denery, Professor of History
Vladimir Douhovnikoff, Associate Professor of Biology
Danielle Dube, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
John Fitzgerald, William D. Shipman Professor of Economics
Crystal Hall, Associate Professor of Digital Humanities
David K. Hecht, Associate Professor of History
Laura Henry, Professor of Government
Hadley Horch, Associate Professor of Biology and Neuroscience
Ann Kibbie, Associate Professor of English
Aaron Kitch, Associate Professor of English
Matthew Klingle, Associate Professor of History and Environmental Studies
Belinda Kong, John F. and Dorothy H. Magee Associate Professor of Asian Studies and English
Stephen M. Majercik, Associate Professor of Computer Science
Janet M. Martin, Professor of Government
Frank Mauceri, Senior Lecturer in Music
Madeleine Msall, Professor of Physics
Stephen G. Naculich, LaCasce Family Professor of Natural Sciences
Michael Nerdahl, Senior Lecturer in Classics
Irina Popescu, Visiting Assistant Professor of Latin American Studies
Patrick Rael, Professor of History
Marilyn Reizbaum, Harrison King McCann Professor of English
Nancy Riley, A. Myrick Freeman Professor of the Social Sciences
Meghan Roberts, Associate Professor of History
Collin Roesler, Professor of Earth and Oceanographic Science
Arielle Saiber, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures
Doris Santoro, Professor of Education
Vyjayanthi Selinger, Associate Professor of Asian Studies
Vineet Shende, Professor of Music
Robert Sobak, Associate Professor of Classics
Emma Maggie Solberg, Associate Professor of English
Elizabeth A. Stemmler, James Stacy Coles Professor of Natural Sciences
Daniel F. Stone, Associate Professor of Economics
Rachel Sturman, Associate Professor of History and Asian Studies
Hilary Thompson, Associate Professor of English
Karen Topp, Senior Lecturer of Physics
Sebastian Urli, Assistant Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures
Dharni Vasudevan, Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Studies
Tricia Welsch, Professor of Cinema Studies
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I love LOVE this!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. This just made me so happy.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You just had me one happy lady.
Thank you so much. You all make me very happy.
Target and Five Guys’ starting wages are $13/hr, the same or higher than Bowdoin’s. Waiting two-plus years for a significant jump is useless. Bowdoin is not leading, but following, reluctantly.