Penn housekeepers, grounds workers, and transportation workers in Teamsters Local 115 are celebrating a hard-fought contract victory. A campaign led by rank-and-file members won an end to the inequitable two-tier wage system that pays different hourly rates for the same work. Their new contract will phase out two-tier pay over a 5-year period, with annual raises between 3.5–4% putting all housekeepers on a progression to the top-level wage ($28.68/hr) by 2026.

This is a tremendous win in a fight taking place at so many workplaces for equal pay for equal work. Bargaining surveys, rallies at the union hall and on campus, flyers and messaging in multiple languages, outreach to new members, and the determination to vote no if necessary made it happen. Member-led organizing gets the goods! Our warmest congratulations to the Teamsters 115 members who didn’t back down on their core demand and showed us all what’s possible. Solidarity!

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Get ready for a week of rallies at Penn and in Philly!

  • Tomorrow (Tuesday, June 14) evening, come join museum workers in the Philadelphia Museum of Art Union (AFSCME DC47 Local 397) on the Rocky steps at 6pm for a big rally for a fair contract. These workers have kept the Museum running but have been without a contract for 22 months; they need fair pay, affordable health insurance, and protection from harassment at work. Help them send a clear message to the Museum that enough is enough; the time for a fair contract is now! If you can’t be there in person, you can also support them by contributing to their strike fund.
  • And if you are on or near campus this Wednesday, June 15, come stand with Teamsters Local 115—Penn maintenance workers, grounds workers, and bus drivers—at 3pm on College Green for their next rally for a fair contract and against the racist two-tier wage system (flyers for both rallies below).

Let’s show these workers at the Museum and on our campus that we stand with them!

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