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