Andy Gneiting values his recycling job at the University of Virginia, but he wants his work, associated with waste and physical demands, to matter more by gaining a seat at the table to negotiate his labor rights.
“My job at UVA is not undignified because of digging through used tissues, pouring out half-full cans of Bush Light, and scraping maggots out of TV dinner boxes,” said Gneiting. “My job is undignified because we are providing a clean learning and working environment on poverty wages.”
Gneiting’s message, demanding that representatives “invest in an adequate, equitable, and just Virginia,” is in response to state lawmakers’ current efforts to repeal a law banning collective bargaining for most public employees.
Those efforts are driven by House Bill 1263 and Senate Bill 378, which have advanced steadily but hit roadblocks when legislators attempted to combine the measures. Two significant differences between them: The House version excludes university employees and home health care workers from the Senate bill…