UMass Amherst RAs Slam 'Suicidal' Reopening Plan, May Refuse To Work
AMHERST (CBS) -- UMass Amherst resident assistants and peer mentors are calling the school's reopening plans "suicidal" and may refuse to work this fall. The Resident Assistant and Peer Mentor Union writes in a letter to Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy that its members demand a safer reopening strategy.
The union is calling for hazard pay for those working on campus, and the option for RAs and peer mentors to work remotely.
"We haven't even been promised adequate PPE or safe ventilation standards," the union writes. "And yet you insist on a suicidal reopening plan that will put 50–60% of the population back on campus."
The school's reopening plan gives students the choice to live at home or on campus.
WBZ-TV has reached out to UMass for a response.