Opinions

Swarthmore Inn Card Check Neutrality

In print | January 29, 2009

To the editor:

As members of Swarthmore Labor Action Project (SLAP), we would like to update the student body on the status of the campaign our group has been running to ensure that workers’ rights at the proposed Swarthmore Inn are fully protected. We are asking the administration to enter into a card check neutrality agreement, which we feel best guarantees the workers’ right to organize a union democratically and free from intimidation.

Last semester, many of you came out to our events, and over 500 students and faculty signed on to a statement in support of card check neutrality at the Swarthmore Inn. Though the college’s plans for new development have been impacted by the current financial crisis, they have communicated to us that they understand the hotel to be a vital aspect of Swarthmore’s future. Moreover, the decision to protect workplace democracy is first and foremost a question of ethics, not finances, and can be made responsibly, irrespective of the financial climate.

We look forward to continuing dialogue with the administration and the campus community about this issue. Our group anticipates that the college will come to a timely decision that demonstrates Swarthmore’s ongoing commitment to civic and social responsibility.

Zoe Bridges-Curry ’09
Megan Long ’12