Roth blogs about Physical Plant negotiations

Roth’s blog occasionally provides some useful insight into administrative happenings. Recently, it offered a glimpse into our president’s thoughts on the Physical Plant negotiations:

… We are back at the negotiating table, but it is disturbing to see students enlisted in a protest (“No contract, no peace!”) that seems aimed to make up for the failure of the physical plant employees to agree with their own representatives. It is hard to miss the irony of physical plant employees having extra work to do as they clean up the scrawled messages of their student supporters…

On a lighter note, when Sophie saw “contract now!” scrawled on our driveway, she thought we were suddenly to become smaller…

As imagined, his thoughts have created some discussion in the comments section of his blog post. One stood out to me in particular: the fifth comment, in which Christie Kontopidis ’10 gave Roth a piece of her mind:

I’m surprised by Mr. Roth’s misrepresentation of the facts of the negotiations and the actions taken in response to them. There was no “irony” in physical plant cleaning up student chalking, because the workers who erased the chalking were sub-contracted, and not part of physical plant. Additionally, the chalking was only erased because of President Roth’s chalking ban which inhibits our freedom of speech. Workers and students are not divided on the issue of chalking. If the administration simply lifted the ban, no worker would have to waste time erasing chalk.

Furthermore, the pun made with the word “contract” just isn’t funny. These are people’s lives which are being discussed and negotiated.

Remember, there is a rally in support of Physical Plant workers today at noon, at North College.

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41 thoughts on “Roth blogs about Physical Plant negotiations

  1. Mad Joy

    Oh, that makes more sense. Still, do we know the specifics of what in the contract isn’t fair, and why it was rejected? I feel uncomfortable going to a rally without really understanding the details of the contract situation. :( While I think it’s great to support workers in general, a blind unions-trump-all stance doesn’t seem completely right.

  2. Mad Joy

    Oh, that makes more sense. Still, do we know the specifics of what in the contract isn’t fair, and why it was rejected? I feel uncomfortable going to a rally without really understanding the details of the contract situation. :( While I think it’s great to support workers in general, a blind unions-trump-all stance doesn’t seem completely right.

  3. Mad Joy

    Oh, that makes more sense. Still, do we know the specifics of what in the contract isn’t fair, and why it was rejected? I feel uncomfortable going to a rally without really understanding the details of the contract situation. :( While I think it’s great to support workers in general, a blind unions-trump-all stance doesn’t seem completely right.

  4. Anonymous

    pplant didn’t reject their own contract. the higher ups in the union negotiated and agreed to something the workers don’t think is fair.

  5. Anonymous

    pplant didn’t reject their own contract. the higher ups in the union negotiated and agreed to something the workers don’t think is fair.

  6. Anonymous

    pplant didn’t reject their own contract. the higher ups in the union negotiated and agreed to something the workers don’t think is fair.

  7. Anonymous

    After 10 months at the table, the university’s lawyer was absolutely convinced that the membership would approve the offer on the table–so the union had to bring the offer to a vote to demonstrate that the workers do not approve of what the university is willing to offer.

  8. Anonymous

    After 10 months at the table, the university’s lawyer was absolutely convinced that the membership would approve the offer on the table–so the union had to bring the offer to a vote to demonstrate that the workers do not approve of what the university is willing to offer.

  9. Mad Joy

    I agree with 9:25. I’d like to hear any sort of rationale for why PPlant rejected their own contract that they’d put forward.

  10. Mad Joy

    I agree with 9:25. I’d like to hear any sort of rationale for why PPlant rejected their own contract that they’d put forward.

  11. Anonymous

    After 10 months at the table, the university’s lawyer was absolutely convinced that the membership would approve the offer on the table–so the union had to bring the offer to a vote to demonstrate that the workers do not approve of what the university is willing to offer.

  12. Mad Joy

    I agree with 9:25. I’d like to hear any sort of rationale for why PPlant rejected their own contract that they’d put forward.

  13. Anonymous

    it sure is great that we have a new, young liberal president who so represents our interests. god forbid he should help labor or try to maintain university traditions or end a ridiculous ban on a harmless practice tolerated everywhere else in this country. but then again, when the first amendment was written they couldn’t have foreseen people writing on the sidewalk in ways that would last all the way until the next rain. and as delmar crim says, most food service workers (who are also getting fucked this year) live below the poverty line. maybe physical plant should be happy that they aren’t forced to work for free. i don’t care about puns and i’m glad roth blogs, but i’m very disappointed in how he’s been handling himself. he may be good for bringing in money to the school, but around here, it’s just bad politics.zonker harris lives!

  14. Anonymous

    it sure is great that we have a new, young liberal president who so represents our interests. god forbid he should help labor or try to maintain university traditions or end a ridiculous ban on a harmless practice tolerated everywhere else in this country. but then again, when the first amendment was written they couldn’t have foreseen people writing on the sidewalk in ways that would last all the way until the next rain. and as delmar crim says, most food service workers (who are also getting fucked this year) live below the poverty line. maybe physical plant should be happy that they aren’t forced to work for free. i don’t care about puns and i’m glad roth blogs, but i’m very disappointed in how he’s been handling himself. he may be good for bringing in money to the school, but around here, it’s just bad politics.zonker harris lives!

  15. Anonymous

    it sure is great that we have a new, young liberal president who so represents our interests. god forbid he should help labor or try to maintain university traditions or end a ridiculous ban on a harmless practice tolerated everywhere else in this country. but then again, when the first amendment was written they couldn’t have foreseen people writing on the sidewalk in ways that would last all the way until the next rain. and as delmar crim says, most food service workers (who are also getting fucked this year) live below the poverty line. maybe physical plant should be happy that they aren’t forced to work for free.

    i don’t care about puns and i’m glad roth blogs, but i’m very disappointed in how he’s been handling himself. he may be good for bringing in money to the school, but around here, it’s just bad politics.

    zonker harris lives!

  16. Anonymous

    It seems to me that when Local 153’s opening proposals numbered 8 and Wesleyan submitted 49 it no longer became a matter of negotiation but that of intimidation; and when in the last meeting the University’s representative issued Physical Plant workers an ultimatum it no longer was seeking “common ground”.

  17. Anonymous

    It seems to me that when Local 153’s opening proposals numbered 8 and Wesleyan submitted 49 it no longer became a matter of negotiation but that of intimidation; and when in the last meeting the University’s representative issued Physical Plant workers an ultimatum it no longer was seeking “common ground”.

  18. Anonymous

    It seems to me that when Local 153’s opening proposals numbered 8 and Wesleyan submitted 49 it no longer became a matter of negotiation but that of intimidation; and when in the last meeting the University’s representative issued Physical Plant workers an ultimatum it no longer was seeking “common ground”.

  19. Anonymous

    When you’re all thirty years old, are you still going to be chalking messages to the world? Are you going to write on your neighbors front walk, “Clean up after your dog?” Perhaps you will write on the street, “Taxes are dumm.” Maybe chalking is a really juvenile way of “expressing yourself”. Honestly, what administration is seriously going to a heed to demand written in blue, green, and yellow chalk? It certainly is NOT the writing on the wall. Even if chalking is used just to advertise an event, or draw a picture, there are equally as effective ways of doing that at Wesleyan. -Daniel

  20. Anonymous

    When you’re all thirty years old, are you still going to be chalking messages to the world? Are you going to write on your neighbors front walk, “Clean up after your dog?” Perhaps you will write on the street, “Taxes are dumm.” Maybe chalking is a really juvenile way of “expressing yourself”. Honestly, what administration is seriously going to a heed to demand written in blue, green, and yellow chalk? It certainly is NOT the writing on the wall. Even if chalking is used just to advertise an event, or draw a picture, there are equally as effective ways of doing that at Wesleyan. -Daniel

  21. Anonymous

    When you’re all thirty years old, are you still going to be chalking messages to the world? Are you going to write on your neighbors front walk, “Clean up after your dog?” Perhaps you will write on the street, “Taxes are dumm.” Maybe chalking is a really juvenile way of “expressing yourself”. Honestly, what administration is seriously going to a heed to demand written in blue, green, and yellow chalk? It certainly is NOT the writing on the wall. Even if chalking is used just to advertise an event, or draw a picture, there are equally as effective ways of doing that at Wesleyan.
    -Daniel

  22. Anonymous

    I thought the most important part of Roth’s blog was when he pointed out that the Administration accepted the contract that the workers’ representatives had proposed. Then the workers themselves rejected their own contract. It seems ridiculous, after those events, to blame the administration alone for PPlant not having a contract.

  23. Anonymous

    I thought the most important part of Roth’s blog was when he pointed out that the Administration accepted the contract that the workers’ representatives had proposed. Then the workers themselves rejected their own contract. It seems ridiculous, after those events, to blame the administration alone for PPlant not having a contract.

  24. Anonymous

    I thought the most important part of Roth’s blog was when he pointed out that the Administration accepted the contract that the workers’ representatives had proposed. Then the workers themselves rejected their own contract. It seems ridiculous, after those events, to blame the administration alone for PPlant not having a contract.

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