Like many of my former colleagues at Bates College, I was disappointed by the results of the recent union election.

I was also disappointed with the reporting on those results in the Sun Journal, which surmised that the outcome showed that staff were “generally satisfied with the way Bates treats them.” A more accurate assessment would have highlighted the Bates administration’s relentless and costly anti-union campaign to convince workers that they would be better off without having a democratic voice to advocate for themselves and their co-workers.

After a majority of eligible Bates staff and faculty filled out union cards indicating their support in the fall of 2021, the administration stalled the election at every turn. Its appeals bought time to carry out well-known union busting measures, with the help of a “union avoidance” consultant who charges thousands of dollars per day.

I am proud of what our organizing efforts at Bates accomplished, in spite of such opposition. Forty-two percent of eligible workers at Bates voted to form a union that would have brought co-workers together from across academic departments and programs. Individual motivations varied, but we shared a common interest in addressing low morale and high employee turnover, which has taken a real toll on students.

We fell short of the votes needed to form a union, but it took nurses at Maine Medical Center three tries to win.

I encourage my co-workers who remain at Bates to hold the current and incoming administration to promises to do better.

Sam Boss, Auburn