Michael Moore slams Sarah Lawrence's response to union

YONKERS – Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore excoriated the Sarah Lawrence College administration Friday for its response to the organization of a union for building workers on campus.

Moore, whose daughter attended the college more than a decade ago and who spoke Friday at a teach-in organized by faculty and students, asked the administration to honor the values of the college and back down. Otherwise, he said, he would never step foot on the campus again.

"It would be the last place I would expect to see this kind of rotten behavior," he said after a winding speech on the benefits of unions that touched on "Downton Abbey" and Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

Moore and the others on the panel, including students, faculty, building workers and union representatives, called on the administration to fire a law firm, Bond, Schoeneck & King, that they said was known for its union-busting tactics. The firm is representing the college in negotiations with the new union, which was approved by the building workers in November in an 11-1 vote.

Andres Puerta of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30, which organized the building workers, said Thursday that the workers reached out to the union for help because they want a say on their working conditions, not out of animosity toward Sarah Lawrence. But in response, the college threatened that unionization could mean layoffs, he said.

"The administration's response to the union's organizing has galvanized the campus," Puerta said.

Thomas Blum, the college's vice president of administration, said in a statement that Sarah Lawrence hired Bond, Schoeneck & King on the recommendation of 11 of the 15 other colleges it consulted when it first learned the union was organizing. It has since hired as a consultant another attorney recommended by two members of the faculty, he said.

Blum said Sarah Lawrence supports the employees' right to organize but he did not say whether it would agree to fire the firm.

"We have made a strong commitment to ensuring that the college negotiates in good faith to reach a labor contract that serves all members of the Sarah Lawrence community," he said.

The teach-in was held with the cooperation of the administration in an auditorium on campus as students were returning for the spring semester. But students and teachers started getting involved months ago, after the college hired the law firm. The student Senate voted to get rid of the firm and 400 people signed an online petition.

"Getting student involvement in this issue was really not a struggle at all," said Emily Rogers, co-president of the senior class.

As he spoke, Moore addressed the administration directly. Bond, Schoeneck & King, he said, was hired to keep a lid on the organization of the union. But they failed, he said.

"You have to get rid of them on that basis alone," he said. "You have to get rid of them because they suck."

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