Facilities Workers Union Struggles

Poster designed by Mac Donovan, displayed across Hamilton's campus depicting Kevin Mojave (middle)

Hamilton College’s Facilities workers have gone without a working contract since July 13th this year. As of October 10th, there had been three rounds of negotiations with Hamilton College’s Administration during the 2025 summer.  Little change had been made during these negotiations. On October 2nd, administrators presented their “last, best, and final offer” which the workers’ union unanimously voted to reject on October 15th, according to the union’s president. As of October 28th, a tentative agreement has been made to fulfill the worker’s requests, but an official contract has not been signed.

The facilities workers are represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Kevin Mojave, a beloved staff member often found in McEwen and Wellin Hall, is the school’s union president. He has led the workers to put up posters throughout campus to alert students and staff to the ongoing struggle. 

The demands of the union are focused on longevity, having a closed shop union, and healthcare premium security. 

Longevity

Facilities staff is asking that the college incentivizes career longevity and that facilities workers receive  compensation such as extra vacation time or a small bonus once employees reach 15-20 years with the college.

“Initially, we wanted to give guys $1,000 as a thank you for 20 years with the college, but [Hamilton] said no so we cut that in half. The college still said no, so we suggested an extra week of vacation time.” said Mojave, “[Facilities workers at Hamilton] get four weeks of vacation time at most. The industry standard is at least five to six weeks.” 

According to Mojave and students working with the union, Hamilton has tentatively agreed to meet this condition moving forward.

Closed Shop

The union also wants a “closed shop.” Having a “closed shop” means that all employees are required to be a part of the union. Hamilton has argued against this claiming that they want people to feel that they have a choice of whether to join the union or not. However, facilities workers argue that they are given little choice by the college already, specifically when it comes to overtime, and the institution should not be so concerned with the choice of union membership.

Mojave feels that a closed shop protects workers, “There are always a few people that don’t join the union for whatever reason, but that means I can’t protect them if something happens. Being in the union means you have an army and a community behind you.” 

Healthcare premium 

Previously, healthcare premiums have changed year to year, which has been frustrating for workers as their pay and benefits do not change as quickly.

“Of course, premiums have to go up over time, but we’re just asking for a bit more stability.” said Mojave

The union is requesting a set premium for three year periods to give workers a greater feeling of stability. 

Language Changes

Tightening the language of the contract is also important to the facilities workers. According to Mojave there is a rule that facilities staff cannot work more than twelve consecutive days without a day off, yet this has not been formally printed. This allowed the college to call in workers on their thirteenth day with little guardrails because the language was not explicit in the contract. 

“There’s also mandatory overtime between reunions, graduation, and whatnot,” said Mojave, “You don’t get to pick when or where you want to do this overtime, it's all for the needs of the college. We also do not get recognized holidays, like Juneteenth, off.” 

Administration

The main administrators as part of these contract negotiations are President Steven Tepper, Vice President for Administration and Finance Karen Leach, and Associate Vice President for Human Resources Steven Stemkoski. 

In response to student interest in the issue, Leach said, “Discussions are ongoing and our goal is to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of this process for all involved. Please be assured that we all truly respect and value our facilities workers for what they do for Hamilton. They are important colleagues and friends. We appreciate your respect and patience at this time. 

Tepper and Stemkoski have not made any public comments. 

Mojave and other union members have expressed frustration with the administration's approach to these negotiations, “These three things, Colgate, Syracuse, and every other surrounding university have already. We're an anomaly.” 

Workers at Colgate fought for similar concerns in the fall of 2024 and were able to have their needs met. 

Progress 

The Facilities workers have now turned to Hamilton students for assistance to help pressure administrators. A meeting was held with interested student groups on campus on October 2nd. Mac Donovan, a senior, has been working with Mojave, other facilities workers, and students to spread awareness about the issue. Donovan is working to create resources for the Hamilton community to join in, such as sending an email using this template, made by Donovan, to Tepper, Leach, and Stemkoski. They have said they are just here to help the cause and declined further comment.

More and more students became involved with spreading awareness and voicing their frustrations with Hamilton’s administration.“I'm upset to see the lack of appreciation for these employees that this seems to represent. The reason I'm involved with this is because I know the school can and will do better.” said Peter Hinkle, a senior.

“The best, most immediate impactful thing community members can do is send the email petition template that is publicly accessible. And this is for all to get involved, too! Alumni, faculty, and staff, not just students!” said Hinkle.

This story is currently developing and updates will be posted as they come. While some agreement has been made, the contract is not final and we do not yet have full details of the results.