Hope Isn’t a Plan—A Contract Is
WCWU Organizers Respond to October Budget Forum
At the October 6th and 7th budget forums, President Bolton and Vice President for Finance & Administration Jeff Hamrick shared their vision for “addressing Whitman’s financial challenges.” What we heard instead was a familiar story where staff and contingent faculty are again expected to shoulder the costs of “fiscal responsibility,” while leadership shields itself from the impact of its own decisions.
Last year, 77% of budget cuts came from staff positions, salaries, and staff-related operational budgets. Now we’re being told to prepare for another round of layoffs as well as potential cuts to benefits. Looking at the financial projections, this is not a one-time crisis to be addressed with temporary measures. Per President Bolton, the cabinet is planning to make 8–9% cuts over the next several years. We will continue to experience the same stress, fear, and sense of powerlessness year after year. Meanwhile, the college continues to spend on long-term capital projects and property investments, proudly announcing that these are “off the table” for cuts.
It’s the same pattern we have seen at Whitman College for decades: when it’s time to tighten belts, it’s always our belts they mean. But we do not have to keep our heads down and continue to bear the burden of leadership's mistakes while hoping things will change later down the line.
Shared Sacrifice Without Shared Power
Leadership says we’re all in this together. But we have no real say in how decisions are made. Staff are technically present on budget and compensation committees, but their role is purely advisory — symbolic participation without actual power.
Let’s be clear: transparency isn’t the same as shared power. We don’t need more budget forums to answer our questions and concerns after the decisions are made. We need actual representation at the table when the decisions are made so that the day-to-day realities of those impacted by necessary cuts and new policies are actually accounted for.
A union gives us that power. It means real collective bargaining, not “consultation.” It means being able to negotiate how cuts are made, how layoffs are handled, and how wages and benefits are protected. It means having a contract that leadership can’t unilaterally change when things get tough.
What the Budget Tells Us About Priorities
While President Bolton acknowledges that even the 2% raises that were withdrawn from many staff last year don't cover rising cost-of-living in Walla Walla, we're told the college can’t afford to keep up with inflation, that there’s “no end” to the shortfalls despite what is touted as a successful Upward Together fundraising campaign.
At the same time, Whitman continues buying properties and funding long-term planning projects — things Jeff Hamrick admitted are “not available for cutting.” These projects are pitched as “investments in the future,” but there is no future for the college without its employees. We deserve just as dedicated an investment as any real estate.
What does this say about what leadership values? How does that square with Whitman College's mission to "prioritize student learning within and beyond our classrooms"? As wages dwindle and positions are cut, how can staff and faculty be expected to make good on the promises Whitman has made to its students? How can we help students lead "ethical and meaningful lives of purpose" when the financial decisions of our cabinet and Board and the labor practices of the institution are decidedly unethical?
Wages, Benefits, and “Everything on the Table”
At the forum, Bolton acknowledged what we all know: wages aren’t keeping up with inflation, and they haven’t for years. Yet instead of plans to fix that, leadership has turned its eyes to our benefits with President Bolton's announcement of a new "benefits working group" tasked specifically with finding “savings.”
Translation: cuts.
Our benefits such as college tuition for dependents and affordable healthcare have kept many employees at Whitman who could otherwise find higher pay at other schools or in a different industry. Without a union contract, our wages and benefits can be changed at any time. A union means stability. It means that our healthcare, tuition benefits, and retirement plans can’t be gutted without our consent. It means that when leadership says “everything is on the table,” we’re at that table too.
A Future of Endless Cuts Isn’t a Plan
Bolton was frank: there’s “no real end to the shortfalls.” If that is the future our leadership have resigned themselves to, we’re being asked to accept a permanent cycle of cuts, hiring freezes, and doing more with less.
But Whitman College doesn’t exist without our labor.
We are the people who recruit and support students, who maintain and clean campus, who manage budgets, fix buildings, and make the college’s mission possible every single day. We make the place work — and we deserve a say in how it runs.
Why We’re Organizing
Unionizing isn’t about being “against” the college — it’s about standing for each other, protecting what we’ve built and refusing to let decisions about our livelihoods be made without us.
A union means:
The power to negotiate fair and transparent layoff processes, if they ever become necessary.
Prioritizing wage equity.
Protection for our benefits and working conditions.
A voice in shaping Whitman’s future that’s equal to the work we put in every day.
Leadership tells us to trust them, to be patient, to believe that things might get better someday. But hope isn’t a plan. A contract is.
It’s time for Whitman staff to organize, to stand together, and to demand the respect and stability our work deserves.