The Independent Maintenance and Service Employees Union of America (IMSEUA) will celebrate its 80th year as an independent union on May 1, in collaboration with Wellesley’s Union and Labor Advocacy Taskforce (UniLAd) and Wellesley’s Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA).
At Wellesley, IMSEUA represents culinary and facility workers, advocating for fair wages and working conditions for staff across dining services, maintenance and campus operations.
The celebration, scheduled for May 1 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the Chapel green, is open to the student body and will feature a DJ, ice cream truck, maypole dancing, musical performances and other activities.
“I really want all the community to have a day of fun. That is my goal. I really hope we have good weather and I hope we have a good presence,” said Gloria Figueroa, a IMSEUA trustee and an Emporium barista who has been working to plan the event.
For Tricia Diggins, a night custodian who has worked at the College for nearly four decades and serves as a business agent for IMSEUA, the anniversary honors a pivotal moment in the union’s history. In 1942, workers at Wellesley first organized under the American Federation of Labor (AFL), now part of AFL-CIO, but became dissatisfied with their lack of representation in the Boston-based union, leading to the formation of an independent union in 1946.
“The people at Wellesley did not feel they were being respected by the AFL … it was a big deal,” Diggins said. “So what we are celebrating is not the first unionization, but the independent union.”
Figueroa emphasized that the celebration of the union’s anniversary is especially important because it reflects the workers’ long-standing commitment to the College.
“This is the 80th anniversary of the Union. If the college is 150 [years old, then] 80 of those we’ve been here, serving and caring for the students,” Figueroa said.
During Figueroa’s time at Wellesley, she has participated in two union negotiations. She hopes the May 1 event will not only serve as a testament to service employees’ critical role on campus, but will also build a deeper sense of unity and community between staff and students.
“We are so proud [and] grateful to be here, [and] we wanted to celebrate with the community … We just want the community to get back together like it used to,” she said.
Alongside IMSEUA, parent organization to UniLad, Wellesley for the Abolition of Militarism and Incarceration (WAMI), is also supporting the event. Hadley Roberts ’27, President of WAMI, emphasized the key role of the student body in backing Wellesley staff and union efforts.
“I think we definitely saw, in particular with the WOAW strike, just how much student support means and how much it can be not just used [as] leverage against the College, but also how beautiful that community can be when we really have a sense that we’re all in the same struggle,” Roberts said.
The IMSEUA will be approaching the end of the four-year union contract in June of 2027. The union will once again be engaging in negotiations, however, the nature of the four year turnover means that students that witnessed the last bargaining cycle will no longer be on campus to support the union members. For Roberts, this is more of a reason for students to begin making connections with the union.
“I think this event is a great opportunity to mak[e] sure that the union sees visibly that students are with them, and will be with them, through whatever processes are to come,” Roberts said.
Contact the editor responsible for this article: Lyanne Wang
