'Welcome to the movement': Whitman College staff seek to form union

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct Amber Connor’s work history.

After taking a staff job at Whitman College’s Fouts Center for Visual Arts in 2008, Amber Connor had to keep her other job at a restaurant to make ends meet.

In four nights working at the restaurant, Connor made more money than she did in a month at Whitman College.

“When I received my first paycheck (from Whitman) I called my husband in tears,” Connor said. “He gently reminded me I wasn’t working here for the money.”

Connor, the administrative assistant for the arts center, took the job at Whitman all those years ago for two reasons: health insurance and college education for her daughters. Employment at Whitman meant she would have access to those things.

Today, Connor is just one of many staff members seeking change through the formation of Whitman College Workers United, a union for staff members. She, along with almost 200 other staff, students, faculty and community members, gathered on Thursday, Feb. 19, outside Cleveland Commons on campus at a rally in support of the union.

“Each person here has a story. We all have reasons why we came to Whitman and we all have reasons why we’ve stayed at Whitman,” Connor said. “We want Whitman to honor its commitment to us, to make sacrifices on our behalf. We already made sacrifices on their behalf.”

Whitman College Workers United has been in the works for months, according to studio and safety technician Ben Selby, who is one of the staff members leading the union efforts.

Selby said staff are working with the American Federation of Teachers in Washington, a Renton-based union-backing organization. The group is looking for voluntary recognition of the union by the Whitman College administration so contract negotiations can begin. In the event that does not happen, staff are also sending authorization cards to the National Labor Relation Board, which would lead to an election to formally recognize the union.

The last staff union at Whitman that Selby knows about was formed in the 1970s and fizzled out in the 1980s.

“We want to create a strong backing that continues for many, many years,” Selby said.

The union would include any staff members, including non-tenured faculty members and excluding staff supervisors who have direct influence on wages and labor.

Selby said what spurred the formation of the union was the desire for fair wages and stable benefits, including health care.

“We just had some significant changes to our health care without any say in it,” Selby said. “A few months ago, they just kind of restructured everything out of the blue.”

Whitman College spokesperson Heidi Pitts said in an e-mailed statement that while Whitman did not cut health care benefits, employees did see premiums rise for the first time in three years.

“This is a trend that we have seen across the country in both public and private sectors and Whitman’s rate increase is very typical when compared with other employers across Washington,” Pitts said. “Not only were benefits not cut, additional plan options were made available to employees this year.”

Many speakers at the rally also mentioned stagnant wages as a top concern.

Pitts said Whitman determines its salaries using data from peer institutions reported by the College and University Professional Association.

“Our average salary for staff is 94% of the median of our peers across the nation,” Pitts said. She also said the last wage increase for staff was in July 2025, and that staff have received wage increases each of the last four years.

Joshua Slepin, president of the staff union at Walla Walla Community College, shared how things have changed at WWCC since their union formed just two years ago.

“Since signing that contract, we’ve seen job wages increase, we’ve secured job security for all of our members, we’ve found ways to push back against management overreach, and we have a seat at the table when the decisions are being made,” Slepin said.

The staff union at WWCC is also represented by the American Federation of Teachers. Slepin said he was confident the staff at Whitman could succeed in their efforts.

"You've got a committed membership who's willing to stand out here in the cold to listen to me. You've got the support of allies, students, faculty, local labor organizations in Walla Walla, in Washington state and across the nation,” Slepin said. “And we all have your back … we're all in this together. Welcome to the movement.”

Penrose Library Technology Specialist and Whitman College Workers United media liaison Hew McKinney said the rally was a celebration of Whitman and the staff on campus. McKinney’s role in organizing has focused on talking to people, informing them of what unions are and what role they play in workers’ rights.

“Whitman has a very strong social justice and progressive community around us here and so I am thrilled at the turnout.” McKinney said. “We are just happy to inform Whitman about what we do and how much our working conditions affect student learning conditions.”

Peter Schultz, an instructional and learning technologist at Whitman and one of the people leading the union efforts, said he understood that now is a tough time for higher education, including Whitman.

“The administration here wants to balance the budget by cutting jobs, cutting programs, cutting benefits, because they see these things as a drain on their resources,” Schultz said. “As opposed to more houses or the (Big House) Brew Pub, and that’s an investment that’s got to be prioritized.”

Several people held signs at the rally opposing Whitman’s recent purchases of more real estate for student housing and the purchase of the former Big House Brew Pub downtown.

Schultz told the crowd on Thursday that it was a historic day for Whitman.

"We're not just hoping the administration listens to us, we're demanding courteously, politely, cordially — but firmly,” Schultz said. “And we're prepared to make sure that the needs of staff and our families in this community are being met, so we’re not living and working at the mercy of someone else.”

Schultz said Whitman President Sarah Bolton was invited to the rally to accept a letter written by the organizing committee asking for voluntary recognition. Bolton did not show up to the rally, which led the large group to march across campus to the Memorial Building where Bolton’s office is.

Bolton came out, accepted the letter and thanked Schultz.

“Whitman College staff, faculty and students held a rally today that culminated with the delivery of a letter to President Bolton,” spokesperson Heidi Pitts said in a statement after the rally. “We acknowledge the receipt of that letter and President Bolton will seriously consider its contents.”

Union-Bulletin photographer Kezia Setyawan contributed to this story.

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