About 40 housekeepers, students and local citizens marched to South Building today to present Chancellor Holden Thorp with a copy of their stated grievances regarding UNC’s treatment of housekeepers and workers on campus.
The group outlined their concerns in grievance report, explaining their opposition to the University’s sit-down policy, which prohibits unauthorized rests by workers. The policy has come under scrutiny recently, when several housekeepers were disciplined for violating the policy.
Activists delivered the grievance to Thorp’s office today, after staging a small rally on the steps of South Building around 12:30 p.m. Thorp was in a conference call at the time, and the group gave the paper to his office for him to review later.
The Daily Tar Heel has requested a scanned copy of the grievance.
“It’s been a long time of these folks being stepped on,” said Peter Hoyt, a 58-year-old retired schoolteacher who participated in the protest, of the housekeepers. “I think the administration doesn’t want them mingling with the students because the students are better than them.”
The group has requested a response from Thorp by Monday at 3 p.m. Some expressed disappointment that Thorp did not address their concerns today.
“If he really wants to do the right thing, it seems to me that he could cancel whatever he’s doing for ten minutes and come out here,” Hoyt said.
