Unionized facility workers expressed what they saw to be university management’s disrespect toward them on Tuesday by handing out leaflets to passersby in Red Square. The leaflets detailed the union workers’ concerns and invited “facilities management to work hand in hand . in the spirit shared by the workers union and Georgetown University – a spirit of justice, solidarity and service to others.”

At a meeting on Thursday, area Service Employees International Union leader Eliyahu Rabin, facilities workers and members of the Georgetown Solidarity Committee discussed the issues they feel need to be addressed by their supervisors.

According to Rabin, the workers’ grievances were brought to the attention of management at the end of September and were later verbalized at a meeting on Nov. 26. “Apparently they didn’t take us seriously enough,” Rabin said.

Executive Director of Facilities and Student Housing Karen Frank said she was unaware of the workers’ concerns and added that she was willing to discuss their issues of concern in coming weeks. “I want employees not only to express their concerns but to help us come up with ways to address them,” Frank said.

“We’re going to have meetings in small groups to discuss their concerns – as many as it takes for as many people to say something,” she said.

Approximately 350 Georgetown facilities workers are members of SEIU, which is one of the largest unions in the world.

At the meeting, university special events staff member Wali Rahman said, “Everyone in this room has a job to do.” Rahman, who has worked for the univeristy for 13 years also said,”[Management] sees us all as an employee or as a number on a time card.”

Steve Foster, a university employee for 27 years, said that the university does not seem to understand either the policy guidelines of the university or the contents of the union contract. “Underlying the difficulties that the working men and women here face from those who deal distantly with them is a limited notion of labor and unions,” Rabin said.

Members of the Georgetown Solidarity Committee, which has helped workers unionize in the past, has been working with Georgetown facilities employees for the past six months, according to GSC member Michael Levinson (MSB ’02).

“We’ve been working with them to understand their concerns and see what we can do to help,” Levinson said.

D.C. union Vice President Greg Vowyer said that students have been very receptive to workers concerns. “In the past we have had a great relationship with the student body,” he said. Vowyer said students and workers have worked “hand-in-hand” to confront management on a variety of labor issues.

Last year GSC members helped employees at laundry facilities in Georgetown University Medical Center to improve their working conditions and wages. MedStar, the private corporation that runs the Medical Center, contracted with a laundry service that paid its employees $5.50 per hour with no benefits. With GSC’s support through picketing and campaigning the employees concerns were brought to attention of the administration.

“The student-worker partnership that was forged helped the [situation] to be addressed more effectively,” Levinson said.