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The Daily Tar Heel

The University ought to consider proposals by housekeepers

Housekeepers filed a grievance report with the University on Thursday, citing verbal harassment from a zone manager and crew leader and discrimination based on national origin. UNC administrators should take these complaints — and the proposals the housekeepers put forward — seriously.

Besides calling for the firing of the zone manager and the demotion of the crew leader, the workers proposed some policy changes to reduce workplace harassment. The workers called for increasing housekeeper oversight of their supervisors and adding “hostile work environment” to the official list of offenses for which employees can submit a grievance.

The proposed policy changes the housekeepers listed in the complaint are fair and sensible.

Workers need channels through which they can hold supervisors accountable. Having more meaningful participation in the selection of crew leaders and zone managers and a review process of their supervisors every six months would increase accountability. This could significantly reduce the incidence of workplace harassment at UNC.

The housekeepers’ proposal to add a “hostile work environment” category to grievable offenses would clarify that not all harassment fits into clear definitions.

This category would not require workers to differentiate between harassment based on gender, race or other social divisions. Instead it would give them the option of reporting a grievance based solely on their right to dignity.

UNC administrators should conduct a thorough investigation into the complaints and make employment decisions appropriately. But regardless of the outcome of the case, the policy proposals the housekeepers submitted are just, necessary and should be considered.

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