Nonprofit Mississippi News HATTIESBURG – Janice Jones looked around at the crowd, her brown eyes shining in the bright sunlight. A crowd of 30 protesters gathered at the fountain near University of Southern Mississippi’s Danforth Chapel. They planned to march to President Rodney Bennett and hand out more than 250 pledge cards asking him to raise the minimum wage at the university to $15 an hour. Jones had been talking about going all week with her fellow custodians. Jones was stopped in the hall by unknown custodians to inquire if she was planning on going. It was now fifteen minutes past four and the rally was about to begin. Only one Jones coworker had arrived. She said, “Most of them were Black.” Jones has been a custodian at USM since 2003. Jones didn’t intend to stay long, but a car accident during the pandemic forced her to make emergency payments for knee surgery. She now wakes up just before 5 am to clean the toilets, disinfect desks, and handle door knobs. Roberts Stadium. Jones is paid $10 an hour for this work. This is the lowest wage on campus. Jones was introduced to United Campus Workers (UCW) shortly before her car accident. Jones quickly joined the chapter of the labor union, which is an affiliate of Communication Workers of America. The pandemic made organizing difficult. Turnover increased as USM returned to “normal”. Jones stated that it felt like the work load tripled. USM began bussing Jones around campus and the other custodians, often making them work overtime at 1.5 times their hourly wages. In January Bennett announced that he would be stepping down as USM’s first Black president in 2023. Jones and UCW members spotted an opportunity. Bennett had established the campus minimum wage of $10 as one of his first acts as president. UCW believed that this could also be Bennett’s final act. UCW members voted to protest on the first week in May, just a month after Bennett took office. Jones attempted to calm her coworkers by standing in front of the fountain. Samuel Ewing, another UCW member climbed onto a concrete hedge and started the rally. Ewing spoke to the crowd through a megaphone and said that he was among the campus workers who earned far less than $10 an hr. He was an adjunct professor and had only taught four classes in the past year. His annual salary was $12,000. He said that UCW’s campaign for raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour would benefit “a wide swath of workers” on campus. He said, “I’m talking about custodial, administrative, and janitorial workers. These are librarian workers, administrators, and the people who make this university what it is.” “If we want to make the university a welcoming place for students, then we have to support those who make it work,” Ewing said. But, they won’t raise the wages unless we demand it. They won’t do it unless we demand it. Jones nodded her head, indicating that she was happy to accept it. Jones was outside taking her 12 o’clock break in the liberal arts building, when a tall, white, long-haired man approached her. He called himself John Jester and said he was an organizer for United Campus Workers. Do you think she had time to discuss the union? Jester began his story while Jones smoked a pipe. UCW was founded in 2000 by a group of students, faculty and community members from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. They voted to create a union that could be joined by all employees. UCW was now on a mission, amid a nationwide wave of unionization. This was a difficult task in Mississippi considering that state law prohibits public employees from striking. Jester stated that they are not seeking to run for office. Jester said, “We’re not trying to go for an election.” Jones stated that he could help custodians join UCW. One, custodians need a substantial raise. To make ends meet, most took on additional jobs; Jones was at that time working for a temp agency. Jones also mentioned the attendance-based points system that is used by the Physical Plant to monitor custodians. According to the policy, custodians may earn points for missing shifts, late clocking in or early leaving — 10 points could lead to dismissal. Jones felt that the policy was being misused. Jones said that she was among many custodians who received points even though they had provided human resources with a doctor’s note. Mississippi was hit by the pandemic a month later. Jones was driving a van to her second job and got into an accident that caused her to tear a ligament in her right leg. USM offered her accommodations, but she was not allowed to limit the time she spent cleaning stairs. Jones still wears a blue brace to save money for her surgery. She said, “They explained that there is no such thing as light duty out here.” Jones gave Jester her number in February 2020. She joined him at the Physical Plant gate every day for the next year to discuss unionization with her coworkers. Jones tried to share her personal experiences with coworkers when she spoke to them about the union. Her dad was a member of the union at Hercules chemical plants in Hattiesburg during the 1960s. He was among the first Black employees at the plant. Jones, who called herself a “nosy kid,” stated that she would ask her father why he was always talking about “the union.” She later found out that a union steward had helped Jones’ parents obtain credit which allowed them to purchase their small, three-bedroom home in an all-white neighborhood. She said that a union is a group of people who are going to be there for you. “Some companies are in control of everything. They can decide what they want. Jones’ stories were embraced enthusiastically by her coworkers, who began to distribute flyers. Others were more cautious. Others were more cautious. Jones claimed that she once had several coworkers who left her office to attend an off-campus UCW meeting because they couldn’t find parking. Jones was well aware that organizing is a difficult and confusing subject in Mississippi, where there has been a long history of low union membership rates. She didn’t realize how afraid her coworkers were about losing their jobs. Not the money, but the crucial benefits like discounted tuition for their children and access to the state’s retirement plan. Jones felt that custodians were being told not to speak up. Jones and Jester were selling leaflets outside the gate during summer 2021 when a police vehicle pulled up. Jester was told by the officers that he had violated campus solicitation policies and had to be removed. Officials at USM did not dispute the description of the incident. Jones does not know who called police. However, after Jester left, a manager from the Physical Plant asked Jones if she would follow her to her office to make copies of UCW’s flyers. Jones said no to her, she was out of time. She could have asked Jester to get one if she desired it. Kyrelle Harris (24 years old), a former custodian, claimed that he was fired for accumulating too many points. Harris claimed that he spoke out about how USM forced him to use vacation time after he received COVID in the early 2020s and was too sick to return work after his quarantine period. Harris said that he began to feel “nitpicked,” about his job after he complained. USM spokesperson Margaret Ann McCloud stated that USM offers staff with medical conditions multiple avenues for employment protection and does not retaliate. Harris did not join UCW, despite his desire for better working conditions. Harris said that he couldn’t afford to pay the $15 monthly fees on his paycheck. He said that he felt discouraged by the fact that custodians who advocated for higher wages didn’t get anywhere. Ewing’s speech was over. Jones, Jester and the rest of them marched to the Aubrey K. Lucas Administration Building. Bennett’s office is there. Jester stopped on the steps. Jones nodded and he held up a manila envelope containing pledge cards. Although they had worked for this moment for a year, neither knew what to expect. He said, “Alright.” The interior of the administration building was cooler than the outside because it was lined with granite and dark wood. Jones, Jester, J. Theresa Bush and a third member from UCW walked in a single file line to the front desk and introduced themselves to her. She then asked Bennett if they could speak to Bennett. After a while, a white man appeared and Jester gave him the envelope. They turned and left. Bennett then walked out of his office’s glass doors. He said, “Good to meet you.” “Tell me about this.” USM’s economic footprint has expanded and enrollment has reached new heights since Bennett was elected president in 2013. It was one of many goodwill-generating decisions, not the only one that raised the minimum wage in that year. Gulf Live reports that Bennett took the decision after being asked by a worker during an open forum. Bennett stated that this would allow employees to lead the life USM employees are entitled to. It will allow employees to spend more quality time with their children and families. It’s the right thing, and it will impact the economics of our community.” However, low-wage workers claim that their take-home earnings have not increased in eight years. Jim Coll, USM chief communications officer, stated that while the USM minimum wage rate has not changed, all employees have had pay increases over the past decade and have been offered promotion opportunities. Jones was nervous. He seemed surprised at the protest and she hoped that he would consider them serious. Jester replied, “We’re just appealing for you” because Bennett said that it was a priority of his when he first arrived to raise the wages. Everyone shook hands, and it appeared that Bennett was returning to his office. Bush asked Bennett to come with them outside. Bush, an assistant professor of theatre, wanted Bennett to have the opportunity to acknowledge that UCW had given him pledge cards. She said, “Everybody’s here.” Bennett raised the envelope of pledge cards outside, holding it up. He said, “I have my materials.” “So let’s take a look at that. “Thank you all for being there.” Jones and her coworker stayed at the fountain to discuss everything they would like to see changed at work, including the point system, mandatory overtime, and pay. Jones thought back to Bennett’s brief encounter. She was teary-eyed. She thought, “I hope it doesn’t turn ugly.” He’s on his own. Jones looked at his coworkers and thought about the ones who promised to be there, but didn’t show up. The chapter had grown to 30 members in the two years that Jones had been organizing with USM. However, it was mostly faculty. She was still shocked by the lack of Physical Plant workers. Custodians and low-wage workers stand to benefit most from a wage rise. Jones stated that it was their security blanket. Jones said that they want more and know they deserve it. However, they are afraid of losing their job so they disconnect. Jones was informed about the segment by her coworkers. By her shiny gold hoops and bedazzled “Limited Edition”, baseball hat, Jones could be seen in the crowd. Jones wanted to ask them where they were. She instead told them that they had missed out.