Workers end strike at Mount Holyoke
SOUTH HADLEY — Invoking the legacy of pioneering Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, an alumna of the college, a group of workers at Mount Holyoke began their strike a 5 a.m. Tuesday.
But last night, the strike at Mount Holyoke ended with a letter to the college unconditionally offering to return to work at 3 a.m. Wednesday, according to a statement from the union. Workers believe they demonstrated significant strength over the day and hope to return to the negotiating table soon, Frank Soults of Service Employees International Union 32BJ said in a statement.
"We think that if Frances were with us today, that she'd be out here with us," Rich Olszewski, who is leading negotiations between the union and the college, said earlier in the day.
By mid-morning, a group of housekeepers and dining and facilities staff set up camp chairs along Route 116. They cheered as drivers honked – such as the operator of a large U.S. Postal Service truck whose blare of the horn filled the street. The strikers brought boxes of Donut Dip coffee and a container of homemade cookies. A game of cornhole lay unused in the grass.
The college's administrative office lay just beyond the stone and wrought iron gate that held a banner: "Welcome to orientation," it said.
The 100 dining staff and 70 facilities staff, represented by Service Employees International Union 32BJ, and 23 housekeepers represented by UAW Local 2322 have been negotiating with the college since the spring.
They cut the campus lawns and clean dishes in the cafeteria and take out the trash. They want a living wage that allows them to afford the cost of living in Hampshire County. They say the college engaged in unfair labor practices during negotiations.
Bill Sims, business agent for workers at Mount Holyoke represented by SEIU 32BJ, said the college said it wouldn't return to the negotiation table unless workers agreed not to strike.
"How does that look like its working out for them?" Sims told the workers gathered. "Last I checked, we are on strike!"
Asked about the unfair labor practices allegations, college spokesperson Christian Feuerstein referred to a statement the school first sent The Republican on Aug. 21 and declined further comment.
"We remain committed to reaching a fair and sustainable agreement," Mount Holyoke's statement says. "We deeply value and recognize the contributions of all of our employees."
Bill Sims, in a purple T-shirt, the 32BJ Service Employees International Union field representative, walks along the picket line of striking members at the Mount Holyoke College entrance in South Hadley on Tuesday. September 1, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Taking the bullhorn at the event outside Mount Holyoke's gates, state Sen. Adam Gomez, D-Springfield, said he believed that Perkins would support efforts to secure living wages for all workers.
He described investments in workers as an investment in the community and its legacy.
"We need to invest in them, those dedicated individuals who make our campus vibrant, safe and welcoming," Gomez said. "Supporting immigrant workers and international students is equally vital. They bring invaluable diversity, talent and strength to our community, and their contribution shapes what makes Mount Holyoke very special."
Patrick Burke, president of UAW 2322, said the 23 housekeepers his union represents clean the common spaces, dorms and residences in order to create a home away from home for the students, 20% of whom travel from out of the country to study there.
The housekeepers, Burke said, want living wages and they don't want additional responsibilities without additional pay. It's a miniscule amount, he said, for an institution with an endowment of more than $1 billion .
"They could go a thousand years giving what we ask for and they'd be fine," he said.
But the college, Burke said, violated labor law in part by attempting to change what they're telling the workers.
He said the college should live up to its values, values that helped shape the likes of Perkins and former Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and other students who "come through these gates and learn how to be active in the world."
"Our members are part of that educational community," Burke said.
Working as labor secretary during the Great Depression, Perkins helped create Social Security and usher through the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established the minimum wage and addressed child labor.
Biographies , such as one maintained by the National Park Service, say it was at Mount Holyoke where Perkins studied working conditions in sweatshops, laying a foundation for her later work.
Some students brought the striking workers water and snacks, a gesture of support "you don't see that at other places," Olszewski said, who leads negotiations at 25 higher education institutions across Massachusetts and Rhode Island for SEIU 32BJ.
Olszewski also said Mount Holyoke President Danielle Holley visited the picket line earlier that morning to tell workers she appreciated their service to the college.
SEIU 32BJ spokesperson Franklin Soults said many of the workers in Mount Holyoke's cafeteria are immigrants and so the union has asked the school to contribute to a legal fund that would help pay for lawyers should a worker need help with an immigration matter.
A group of janitors represented by SEIU 32BJ in the Boston area has a similar legal fund. At a time when the Trump administration is pursing an aggressive immigration policy, Soults said the union wants to establish that legal assistance for the thousands of workers it represents at schools around the region.
But the legal fund has not been established with SEIU 32BJ-represented workers at any other regional school, Soults said. If Mount Holyoke agrees, it would be the first.
"It's one of the ways we're trying to stand up for immigrant rights," Soults said.
The 32BJ Service Employees International Union picket the entrance o Mount Holyoke College entrance in South Hadley on Tuesday morning. Some of the members were striking at 5 A.M. over higher wages to keep up with the cost of living. September 1, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
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