UPDATE AS OF SEPT. 24th: 99.5% of the union has voted to authorize a strike. Read more about why here.

Vassar Alumni, let's rally behind Vassar CWA workers who have been negotiating for a fair and livable wage. If you would like to demonstrate your support in their ongoing contract negotiation with the college, please sign this letter.

CWA stands for Communication Workers of America, and they represent 180 staff members across the college. (Admin Assistants, Library Staff, Technicians, etc.)

We write as alums of Vassar College in support of the Vassar CWA members currently negotiating a new contract. We remember these employees: The admin assistant who fixed a registration error two days before add/drop closed. The lab tech who set up our first experiment. The library assistant who located a 1930s pamphlet at 11pm the night before a paper was due. The carpenter who kept a stage set standing through tech week. This kind of work has always been essential to students’ academic success, and does not go unnoticed.



Vassar’s mission statement claims to create a community in which every member is valued and empowered to thrive, in turn creating a truly remarkable place to work, live, and learn together. Wages set the terms on which that promise is kept. Housing, utilities, insurance, and childcare costs in Dutchess County have risen faster than the pay of CWA workers. When they are forced to leave to find work that pays closer to a local living wage, decades of institutional knowledge goes with them – and the students who arrive next September inherit that loss.



Many of us are among the alums that Vassar asks to give back. The latest campaign, Fearlessly Consequential, promises “an inclusive and accessible campus that promotes a sense of belonging and well-being for our entire community.” Vassar CWA workers are a vital part of that ‘entire community,’ and Vassar’s deep resources should ensure that everyone within that community can lead a dignified life.



We urge you to bargain in good faith and to work with CWA to uplift all Vassar employees to a baseline living wage. This commitment would further Vassar’s own mission to create a thriving community for years to come.



Sincerely,