I was appalled to read some of the comments members of the RPI administration made in a recent Rensselaer Polytechnic article entitled “Details of union effort challenged.” The many individuals who saw this are entitled to reading the truth, which I will now provide.

RPI claims that they offered, “the option of voluntary recognition, which was rejected by Union organizers citing fear of reprisal.” The truth is, a recognition request is triggered when a petition is brought to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). That said, RPI’s first move was to hire high-priced attorneys from a labor and employment firm and challenge the “appropriateness” of the unit sought. However, if the Institute has changed its mind, I’m certain that service employees hoping to join SEIU 200United would have no problem agreeing to a third party card check, a process in which a neutral figure, not from RPI nor the Union, validates that a majority of workers support forming their own union.

RPI also claims that a former employee who was discharged shortly after being quoted in a Times Union article was “fired with cause after showing up to work intoxicated.” If this is true, how come after the individual submitted to an alcohol test, he was permitted to continue working? Going further, how come the Institute never released the results of the test, only saying that, “the results were not in your favor?”

Lastly, I’m not certain what direct benefit service workers received when they were given a job description, outlined expectations, and a career ladder. Are these the “perks” that define doing, “a lot for service employees?”

In conclusion, environmental and site service workers and representatives from SEIU 200United have been speaking with employees on campus about what improvements they would like to see in their working conditions and whether it would be useful to form their own union. When we concluded that a majority of environmental and site service workers wanted to form a union so as to solve the problems of low wages, inadequate staffing levels, limited retirement benefits, and a fair grievance process (to name but a few), we petitioned for that unit. And what was the first thing that RPI did? They sought to include the very workers (DOTCIO, physical plant, procurement services, and student life) that didn’t overwhelmingly say they wanted to form a union.

Your co-workers and SEIU 200United truly value your [workers] input and needs. Based upon what I have seen, I can’t say the same about the RPI administration.

Richard Drucker

Lead Organizer, SEIU 200United