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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Getting to the real issues behind HEI

In response to alumnus Mark Goodman's Letter to the Editor ("Being ‘anti-union' perfectly legal," April 8) I'd like to address some of his basic premises. Mr. Goodman attempts to respond to an article which states that HEI Hotels and Resorts is essentially anti-union for hiring an anti-union consultant. This is a premise that Mr. Goodman agrees with, but then makes the leap to say that the University need not concern itself with HEI because being anti-union is not inherently illegal. Mr. Goodman misses the point. Scott Malpass, the head of the Investment office, refuses to negotiate on the issue because he persists with the myth that HEI "is not anti-union in any way." Students concerned with our University's investment policy have brought up evidence time and again that HEI is anti-union, and alumni like Mr. Goodman have now corroborated that story. We do not argue that being anti-union is illegal, but that the manner that HEI goes about it is against Catholic Social Teaching and possibly the National Labor Relations Board. According to our moral character as an institution of higher learning and Catholic character, it is the role of the University to care about the protection of workers rights. According to the US Catholic Bishops, "The Church fully supports the right of workers to form unions or other associations to secure their rights to fair wages and working conditions." So long as the University keeps up the farce that HEI is not anti-union, our commitment to Catholic Social Teaching remains shallow at best.

David Rivera
junior
off campus
April 12


The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.