Parade salutes laid-off Oberlin College workers

OBERLIN — Horn blasts ricocheted off Oberlin College buildings Saturday afternoon as a parade of vehicles circled Tappan Square, saying goodbye to workers who have lost their jobs. Dozens — including professors and support staff — marched in the streets to show support for custodians, food workers and other United Auto Workers members who have been laid off this summer as the college cuts expenses. On foot and on wheels, they carried signs that read "You will be missed" and "UAW employees deserve better, they are Oberlin." Diane Lee, who has worked at Oberlin College for more than 40 years, said many of those who have been laid off are friends. Their names were written on a poster that hung on the side of her car. "The college has survived their financial difficulties in the past and they will this time, too. It's just a shame they're trying to do it by ruining people's lives," Lee said. Jamie Jacobs, a vice president of the Oberlin College Office and Professional Employees union, said she has always viewed her colleagues as members of one big team, all striving to make the world a better place. That team is about 100 workers fewer as the college prepares to launch the fall semester in a year made uncertain and strange by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those layoffs were announced in early 2020, before the virus upended everyday life. Jacobs said administrators made decisions "and now the most vulnerable among us are paying for it." Five more layoffs came in early August, and Jacobs said there are rumblings that more could be on the way. Workers represented by UAW Local 2192 will receive three months' severance pay, pay for accrued sick leave and vacation time, and their health care benefits will be extended until June 30, 2021, or until coverage is available through a new job, according to a release from the college. As part of that agreement, the UAW has withdrawn an unfair labor practices charge filed in June with the National Labor Relations Board. Oberlin College declined to comment on the parade. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.