In an email statement to The Daily Tar Heel, the University echoed this sentiment.
“University Housekeepers at UNC-Chapel Hill are compensated at the top of the current ranges, and in some cases even exceed the range thresholds because of legislative increases,” the email said.
After presenting the demands, the group moved to the front steps of South Building to continue the rally. At each side of the staircase, representatives from the Union held flags, and a group of housekeepers held a central banner and signs with their demands.
Representatives from the student organizations that co-sponsored the event — the Campus Y, Siembra and The Black Student Movement — took turns speaking to the crowd, emphasizing their individual missions and expressing commitment to the cause. The groups then gave the floor to the housekeepers, who spoke for most of the rally.
When Harter spoke to the crowd, she thanked everyone for showing up for the housekeepers.
“It’s not just demands,” Harter said. “This is not a want list, it’s a list that says this is what we need. It’s a need.”
“Don’t talk to the media”
Chineka Stanley, another housekeeper, said she feared retribution from the University as a result of her organizing. In September, staff of the Division of Finance and Operations received an email that Stanley described as “bullying.”
“It was pretty much, trying to scare us into not speaking to any media outlets, not to speak to anyone who is going to put a spotlight on the situation,” she said at the rally. “So when I say I'm nervous, half of it is because I'm speaking in front of a crowd and the other is being bullied.”
The email Stanley referenced was sent from Nate Knuffman, the vice chancellor for Finance and Operations, to all department staff on Sept. 7, one day before a reporter from The Daily Tar Heel initially reached out to University sources to cover the University’s annual housekeeping week.
The email was supposed to be passed along from supervisors of the department to the housekeeping staff.
“Finance and Operations strives to support the Carolina mission by communicating openly and honestly using consistent and strategic messages with our constituents, including the media,” the introduction of the email said.
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The email mentions The Daily Tar Heel by name and tells its readers, “Please do not offer information to the media — even if you do know the answer.”
Robin Lee, another housekeeper involved in organizing, expressed frustration that the email was the only specific, relevant statement she has received from the University, despite saying she had emailed the housekeepers’ list of demands multiple times.
“Only thing they said is 'Don’t talk to the media. If you need to talk, you can talk to us,'” Lee said. “Hell, when I did the demands, that's who I sent the paper to, and you didn’t respond to it.”
In an email statement, the University said the media guidelines email was standard procedure:
“The University does not prohibit any employee from speaking on any topic when they are speaking as an individual, just as the University in no way prohibits a faculty member from speaking about their work or research in any forum, regardless of the topic,” the email said. “Employees or faculty members are asked not to make a statement or speak on behalf of the University, which includes individual units as the memo was outlining, without coordinating with their colleagues among the University’s campus communications staff.”
The body of the email sent to department supervisors outlines a procedure for directing media requests to UNC Media Relations or Stephanie Berrier, who is in charge of communication and marketing for the Division of Finance and Operations.
“Employees, including campus communicators, are encouraged to utilize resources such as the University’s Media Relations department to aid in coordination with media inquiries," the media relations manager said. "Finance and Operations is one of several schools and departments who share a reminder about these guidelines annually, typically at the start of a new academic year."
“We will most definitely win”
Trey Anthony, the president of the UNC chapter of The Workers Union, raised concerns about language barriers in communication between the University and housekeepers.
Anthony said that a lot of housekeeping staff are immigrants and speak English as a second language. These barriers might prevent them from understanding their contracts and advocating for their rights.
“I mean, when we've done canvassing with the housekeepers. We've had supervisors tell them that they're not allowed to talk to us,” Anthony said. “And they don't know any better. Because they don't know the laws. They don't know that it's federally protected, that they have freedom of speech and that they can't be fired for talking or joining a union.”
Harter said that the group of housekeepers plans to continue to work with the Union and further their campaign until they reach their goals. She said she expects them to be successful, especially considering the University’s responses, which she believes to be coming from a place of fear.
“I think that if we keep our eye on the prize, and keep our commitment strong, we will most definitely win,” Harter said. “We are going to prove the naysayers that said they're not going to give us more, we're going to prove them wrong.”
@_aishabee_
university@dailytarheel.com
Aisha BaiocchiAisha Baiocchi is the 2023-24 enterprise managing editor at The Daily Tar Heel. She has previously served as a senior writer on the university desk. Aisha is a junior majoring in journalism at UNC and international comparative studies at Duke University, as well as a minor in history.
