Testimonials from Duke University Press Staff
“As a new employee at Duke University Press, I’ve gotten to know the books beyond their covers. I’ve come to learn that behind every Duke University Press book, there is an entire team of people who work together behind the scenes to make that book happen—from the author to the editors, the accountants, the IT staff, the marketing associates, the warehouse workers, the production specialists, the designers, and more. It's not just the famous authors and titles that make Duke University Press special, but it’s the indispensable labor of the staff.
Because of this, I believe that my coworkers and I deserve a union. I believe my coworkers and I deserve a say over how the Press is run—from how much we get paid, to what benefits we receive, to ultimately what rights we are owed from a Press that we dedicate such a large portion of our lives to. Not only do I feel this way about my workplace, but about all workplaces. As the source of what gives society value through our collective labor, workers across the world deserve unions that will fight for their rights on the job.
Solidarity with my coworkers at Duke University Press. Solidarity with my fellow workers across Duke. Solidarity with my fellow workers from across the world. Solidarity with the Duke University Press Workers Union!”
—James Moore, Development Coordinator
“I love Duke University Press and I’m very fortunate to have such wonderful coworkers. It has always been clear to me—first, as a graduate student intern, and now, as a full-time employee—that what we do here, on a daily basis, is truly a team effort. The union represents that for me as well: a collaboration, a coming-together of voices, talents, and interests. An organized and unified front will enable us all to keep doing what we do—but better, and more sustainably. I’m proud to have been a part of the Duke Graduate Students Union, and proud to join the DUP Workers Union.”
—Jessica Covil-Manset, Books Publicity Assistant
“I joined DUP in 2021, when everything about the future of work and scholarship is up in the air. It’s time for us the workers to have a voice in that future, so that we can build the press we want to have—one that lives up to its progressive values. My new colleagues are so inspiring and welcoming, and we all deserve a living wage, fair treatment, and an equitable workplace. I know that we can achieve it together, and the union is the best way to make ourselves heard!”
—Mattson Gallagher, Book Designer
“I support the DUP Workers Union because we all deserve to be respected and valued, have opportunities for growth and promotion, and earn salaries that allow us to live and thrive in Durham. A union is the only way for us to ensure we have a seat at the table, especially as we navigate an economic downturn and a pandemic.”
—Jessica Castro-Rappl, Publicist and Academic Exhibits Coordinator
“I support the DUP Workers Union because I care about fairness and equity for all my colleagues, no matter how much they make, how long they've worked here, what their background is, whether they are paid hourly or are salaried. I want to work toward greater transparency and equity in the formation and administration of policies that affect DUP staff.”
—Patty Chase, Digital Content Manager
“Since Day One at DUP, I've been so impressed by the dedication, hard work, and passion that my coworkers put into their jobs. I've also been saddened to see so many highly educated and skilled people be underpaid, stunted in our growth opportunities, and given additional work without proportional compensation. A company is only as strong as its workers, and DUP's workers deserve to be given the voice that a union would provide to speak up for our well-being.”
—Anna Fletcher, Marketing and Sales Coordinator
“My coworkers are so incredible, and we deserve so much more than we have. There’s been a hiring freeze since last spring, so whenever someone leaves the Press, everyone else steps up to cover that job. We’ve all been working extra hard to get books and journals out into the world during the pandemic, and meanwhile no one received a raise, a cost of living adjustment, or even a retirement contribution for 2020. I believe that organizing together is the best way to make sure that we all get the compensation, working conditions, and respect that we deserve from Duke.”
—Sandra Korn, Assistant Editor
“Clear rules that apply equally to everyone are a crucial part of a safe and equitable workplace. In my time at the press I've seen the same vague written policies receive drastically different enforcement across different departments and various unwritten rules applied arbitrarily. Only by working together as a union do we as employees get a say in the conditions of our employment and the ability to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equitably.”
—Joel Luber, Assistant Managing Editor
“As a formerly undocumented immigrant from a working-class background, I grew up in a context where I witnessed constant precarity, manipulation, wage theft, and fear in my community. Through those experiences, I’ve learned that workers are the experts of our own condition, and we must have a say in the working conditions that affect our lives. I believe that a union would be the most powerful mechanism to ensure equity at DUP. I care about my colleagues and I want to see us all thrive.”
—Alejandra Mejía, Assistant Editor
“Being in a union gives us another dimension where we can communicate with each other and gives us a direct way to work for inclusion and equity and building solidarity and deepening our connections with each other.”
—Claude Misukiewicz, Managing Editor
“After 14 years at DUP, I have come to believe that while it’s great to work at a major university press in the USA, it would be better if Duke recognized the stature and value-add that all of us, together, contribute to the business that is DUP. My contribution and ALL our contributions deserve better recognition, better and more transparent treatment, and better compensation, along with other deserved improvements, like improved family leave and retirement and hiring policies and more. Across the board. All of us.”
—Roy Pattishall, Assistant Managing Editor
“I don’t need someone to have their thumb on me. Hire good people, train them properly, and allow them to do their job. Ice cream parties do not motivate me—I’m motivated by how I’m treated and how people treat others.”
—Courtney Richardson, Book Designer
“Over the past few decades employers have gradually taken more control over policies and standards in ways that benefit the employer more than their employees. Duke is no exception to that. My coworkers and I have taken on more work when team members left the Journals Editorial and Production Department without knowing when pay increases will return. Even if our supervisors appreciate our efforts, Duke could make decisions that would result in terminating any of our jobs without a reason, in order to protect the bottom line. By unionizing I wish to achieve a more fair distribution of power that allows us to participate in decisions and policies that have a big impact on our lives.”
—Nancy Sampson, Production Coordinator
“We need a union at Duke University Press because we deserve a workplace that recognizes us as whole people, with many different demands and commitments in our lives outside of work. I was offered only three weeks of paid leave when I had my first baby during a pandemic. I've seen others endure some harsh treatment at the Press, especially people of color and queer people. I think we need a union because our working conditions affect our whole lives, so we deserve a say over them. The only way to secure that power definitively is by coming together as a union and meeting DUP at the bargaining table.”
—Kelsea Smith, Assistant Managing Editor
“I want to form a successful union because I'm tired of enthusiastic and eager employees at the press losing their spirit because they are sidelined and pigeonholed into one position. We need to create an environment that looks at the talent we already have and make space for infinite possibility while encouraging those who have been at the press to apply for jobs that in the past have been inaccessible. I think a union will help the administration identify and retain these employees (especially from marginalized communities) and give them the compensation they deserve. I'm all for it!”
—Staff member
“I want to form a union because it is our best means of ensuring transparency in benefits and advancement, securing accessibility resources for those who need them, and creating an anti-racist and equitable workplace.”
—Staff member
“Unionizing isn’t about disagreements with any single director or manager. It’s about protecting fellow employees regardless of who they are or what their relationship with management is like. It’s about making sure Duke University Press is an excellent place to work, now and in the future. Unions aren’t about going through a third party to make change—they are about the workers themselves coming together to improve their lives.”
—Staff member
“Although I enjoyed my three years at Duke Press for many reasons, I had concerns about inequitable application of policies (often left up to vague supervisor discretion), workloads and vacancy "management," low wages, and a lack of guaranteed structural protection. At the end of the day, DUP employees are workers, and workers deserve the ability to collectively bargain for their rights. I am so proud of the work the DUP Workers Union has put into this campaign and I urge Duke to recognize the union.”
—Danielle Thibault, former DUP worker
“A workplace doesn't have to be terrible to benefit from having a union. DUP is in many ways a good place to work, and I believe that everyone—staff and management alike—wants it to continue publishing amazing scholarship while being a place where people look forward to going to work. We simply cannot have a truly equitable organization until we have a say in our own working conditions, not as solicited input, but as decision-making partners at the bargaining table. Forming a union is not an indictment—it's staff saying that we want to exercise our right to participate in how the press is run.”
—Ben Kossak, Editorial Associate
“In my two years at Duke University Press, I have had the opportunity to design for and with incredible thinkers, scholars, and artists, and to work beside colleagues whose experience and knowledge have taught me more than I could have hoped for. I have found a community at the press that feels like home to me, and so it is with immense love that I am asking for us to treat one another better, and for Duke University Press and Duke University to recognize the need to give all of its workers a voice in our future. I am so grateful to my colleagues for the work they are doing to fight for a better workplace for all of us, and for workers everywhere (especially in the South). I look forward to a day when the university trusts our collective voices and I can be proud of the structure that houses us.”
—Aimee Harrison, Book Designer
“All over the United States workers experience unfair practices so regularly as to think and be told that their circumstances are simply “the way it is”: conditions in which they have little or no say; disparities between responsibilities, on the one hand, and job descriptions and pay, on the other; diminished job security. If we at DUP can make the way it is better for ourselves, and at the same time can model for workers elsewhere how to make the way it is better for themselves, as others have modeled for us, then we would like to do that. When I think of what and whom Labor Day was founded for, I am struck by what a paltry observance it is now. We need a new Labor Day and a new labor life for it to honor.”
—Chris Mazzara, Assistant Managing Editor
“Duke University Press has long built its brand on publishing cutting-edge scholarship that imagines the world otherwise. During my seven years at DUP I have witnessed and been made aware of many of the forms of structural inequity that our books and journals make visible and critique. DUP’s publication of this critical scholarship while simultaneously taking an anti-union, anti-labor position is emblematic of this disconnect. This is an exciting and potentially transformative moment for Duke University and DUP—they have the chance to put into practice the values its publications profess. The opportunity to imagine otherwise what Duke University Press can be and the forms academic publishing can take is why I support the DUP Workers Union.“
—Chris Robinson, Senior Copywriter
“I support the DUP Workers Union. Even the best intentions of management can’t change the nature of top-down decision making. There are still people left behind. Inclusion and equity are just buzzwords if they do not exist on an equal, transparent basis in DUP’s workplace. A living wage is not too much to ask for. Respect is not too much to ask for. Fair and equitable treatment is not too much to ask for. We the workers need a voice and a seat at the table.”
—Susan Albury, Project Editor
“I support a union because it's important for all employees to have a voice and a way to advocate for themselves. I see no other way to bring about real, lasting, and equitable change. I believe a union would ensure that everyone is treated fairly regardless of department or place in the organization, that there is a transparent avenue for addressing issues, and that all employees are treated as fully human beings.”
—Emily Estelle Lawrence, Books Marketing Designer and Awards Coordinator
“Even though I’ve had a good 8 years at DUP, I’ve seen policies applied differently in different departments, unequal opportunities for career growth and advancement, and large-scale turnover in departments I interact with only occasionally. I support the DUP Workers Union because it’s a way to cut across our silos and address the larger problems at the press. While my position may be relatively comfortable, I can’t sit by and watch my coworkers struggle, especially when those struggles are symptoms of larger problems. My coworkers know how to solve complex issues and make systems work better. Given a voice at the table, we workers can apply those skills to our own workplace, making DUP an equally comfortable place for all of us.”
—Dan Ruccia, Marketing Designer
“I support the DUP Workers Union because I care about my colleagues and want all of us to earn a wage that allows us to afford mortgage, student loan, and childcare payments every month, whether or not we have a second earner at home. We are an exceptional and talented group of professionals who deserve this at minimum. The best way to achieve this is through collective bargaining. I’ve seen other unions at Duke and elsewhere achieve these goals and more, including extended paid time off for medical events and for parental leave. I care deeply about the quality of mine and my coworker’s lives, and that’s why I feel this is so essential.”
—Amy Walter, Senior Production Coordinator
“As a former employee of Duke University Press, I wholeheartedly support my colleagues’ efforts to form a union. While employed at DUP, I found that several of my core job responsibilities had been assigned to another department without notification or discussion with myself or my supervisor. After over a year of inquiries, I was told that since I did not have the title of ‘manager,’ I would no longer be allowed to be a project manager despite having successfully served in that capacity at DUP for over three years. I was open to doing a different job, but I would have liked to know what that job was and how I could be successful at it! I never received a revised job description or further clarification of my job duties.
A union contract could set clear criteria for job changes on the part of both management and workers, as well as a clear grievance process if those criteria are not met. This would help DUP retain excellent workers and enable workers to have clarity in their jobs that I did not have. I encourage Duke to recognize the union..”
—Former staff member
“As a former employee at Duke UP—and as someone who was hired in a position specifically designed to "diversify" a field that is alarmingly white (more white than its commercial publishing counterpart)—I wholeheartedly support the formation of a union at DUP! Not only can a union help address the alarmingly low rates of compensation in the field and the implicit (and sometimes explicit) expectation to work well beyond 40 hours a week, the union also has the power to address countless inequities endemic to the field.
Unionizing provides a necessary mechanism for accountability in a field rife with racism; from egotistical white managers who tokenize, mistreat and harass their staff of color, to white managers who deem themselves "above" diversity trainings and refuse to attend, to the countless micro- and macroaggressions that staff of color at Duke UP shared with me—and that I experienced—in my time at the Press. There's also much to be said of the way ableism plays out in the field of publishing and at Duke UP in particular—evident in promotion practices and retention rates.
For a field—and an institution like Duke UP—that makes its name off of scholarship predominantly about issues of racism, sexism, classism, ableism, homophobia, etc, often in the vein of advocating for justice and dignity for all, it is LONG overdue for Duke UP to look in the mirror and apply the analytical frameworks they publish so much about to the way they run their own institution. To treat their own employees with dignity and to recognize the need for justice, racial and otherwise, among their colleagues.
I believe unions have the power to name and address the MANY inequities endemic to the field of university press publishing broadly and Duke UP specifically. I am ecstatic for and proud of my former colleagues who have organized for this union. I know that through organizing as a collective, we find strength in our differences.”
—Maryam Arain, former DUP worker