On April 11, the Johns Hopkins Hospital’s service workers ended their three-day-long strike for living wages. Seventy percent of Hospital employees are paid less than $14.91 an hour, a rate that qualifies a family of four for food stamps. Bonnie Windsor, the Hospital’s Vice President of Human Resources, has maintained that the Hospital will not publicize its wage bargaining process out of respect for the workers.
The Editorial Board disagrees with the Hospital’s position in this regard. The Court of Public Opinion should be accessible to both the striking workers and the University. Such accessibility is essential to protecting the rights of the workers, who are already disadvantaged by their occupational standing as employees rather than employers. Regardless of the merit of either side’s arguments, the workers have every right to air their concerns publicly, and the University should be prepared to defend their position, which they stand behind so firmly. Hiding behind the veil of protecting workers’ privacy, while simultaneously using this claim as cover to quiet the very same workers’ grievances, is wrong.
The Editorial Board values transparency, particularly in situations like those at present, where one party is disadvantaged by muffling protests behind closed doors. This practice can, though not invariably, lead to an unbalanced relationship with employers suppressing the legitimate concerns of their workers.
Thus, the publicity of this debate is not inappropriate but rather healthy; it guarantees both parties an equal opportunity to persuade the public that their position is correct, thereby leveling the playing field for both sides.
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