Statement on Housekeeper Pay

Dec 15, 2022

UNC recently announced a 90-cent raise for housekeepers. Housekeeper union members feel that the raise is insulting and a slap in the face, since housekeepers will now be paid $16.81/hr, far less than the $20/hr that has been demanded by the union and supported by over 2,200 petition signers. They asked coworkers to compare the raises across the board and found that crew leaders and administrators were given much higher raises in relation to housekeepers. UE Local 150 members have been fighting for wage increases and are furious to see that the real increases have gone to the housekeepers' bosses, while housekeepers are given crumbs.

Housekeeper Robin Lee stated that "We are out here fighting for more money, not the crew leaders or administrators, so why are they getting money for the work we are doing?"

Another issue is that parking fees may go up if raises are given -- abolition of the parking fee structure for essential workers, including housekeepers, is another demand in our petition. 

Housekeeper Tracy Harter said, “We are not satisfied by any means especially when crew leaders and administrators got the large pay raises and we got a mere 90 cents. We are the ones out here doing the dirty work, not them. And again we are being given one thing in one hand and having it taken away out of the other. Now our parking fees will go up as well. Our fight will continue -- we will not be silent, not for 90 cents.”

Union-led contract negotiation is currently illegal under a Jim Crow-era North Carolina law. UE Local 150, the Workers Union at UNC will continue to push on the Board of Governors level to achieve a living wage and collective bargaining rights for all UNC workers. The fight for worker dignity continues!