The United Campus Workers of Berea is celebrating a policy change at Berea College that will allow undergraduates up to 10 hours of sick leave per semester. Rhea Clayton is a member of the organizing committee that pushed for the reform.
“We've been organizing over the past months for our sick leave campaign, and that's put a lot of pressure on the college to make these new policy changes, and we're really excited to see these new policies, because it is a direct result of our organizing,” she said.
Since 1892, Berea College hasn’t charged tuition. Instead, students work at least 10 hours a week on-campus. Clayton said the school is a great institution, but the sick leave reform was needed.
“I know of a student who had a work schedule that was pretty strict so they weren't able to take off for important doctors’ appointments and fear of not meeting their needed labor contract hours,” she said.
Earlier this week, Berea College was named “number one best college for your tuition and tax dollars” in Washington Monthly magazine’s annual rankings.
Berea College is a financial supporter of WEKU.
