Columbia Staff Apply For College President's Housekeeper Job

CHICAGO, IL — Columbia College Chicago's recent job posting for a housekeeper in a building often referred to as "the president's house" has been removed after members of the United Staff of Columbia College (USCC), the union representing college staff, began to apply for the gig. College President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim lives in the building.

According to a news release from the Illinois Education Association, the job at the Columbia building that also includes Kim's home has sparked outrage among USCC members, who are currently negotiating contracts with the college. The members have been negotiating for nearly three years after their last contract expired on Aug. 31, 2018.

“While President Kim is looking for help cleaning his home, those of us who support Columbia students every day are out actively looking for a second or even third income so we can keep our families afloat and pay our bills,” USCC President Craig Sigele said. “We don’t have the luxury of hiring housekeepers. We are struggling to survive.”

Lambrini Lukidis, Associate Vice President of Strategic Communications for the college, told Patch the building is more than just Kim's home. Lukidis said events are often held at the facility, and that the job posting was removed by staff after candidates for the part-time position were selected.

"The building commonly called the president's house is a college property that serves as a venue for official college functions to advance the mission of the institution, houses office space for some college staff, and is home to the president," Lukidis said. "The housekeeper is a part-time college employee who provides cleaning after functions and performs other general cleaning duties in order to maintain the property."

She went on to say that the building had a housekeeper in the past, but the role was vacant when the posting was listed. When Patch asked, Lukidis confirmed that the housekeeper job tends to the entirety of the building, including Kim's home.

Past decisions made by the college's administration have had a negative impact on students and education quality, the release states. An example includes cutting 331 staff positions between 2015 and 2019. According to the release, between the 2009-2010 and 2018-2019 school years, staff saw raises totaling 11 percent, while inflation rose by 18.1 percent during that same time period.

Currently, the college is losing staff to other institutions like Northwestern, DePaul, Loyola and College of DuPage, where they can receive higher salaries, working similar jobs. Although the role was active prior to the job listing, some union members are still not happy about it.

“Honestly, it’s insulting to see a housekeeping job posting like that, especially when USCC members actually need the income. Clearly, President Kim makes a disproportionate salary as compared to the rest of us,” Sigele said. “Meanwhile, USCC members are being asked to do more work for less money. Without a livable wage, Columbia will continue to struggle to retain talented staff members. Our students deserve better than that. They deserve a dedicated, knowledgeable staff, but the lackluster wages are making that increasingly harder to come by.”

USCC represents 367 Columbia staff members working in administrative services, academic advising, student support services, enrollment management, the Career Center, the library, residence life and financial services. The union also represents teaching artists, instructional specialists and other titles that support the college and students.

According to the release, the next bargaining session is set for July 22.

Editor's Note: This story was updated with information from Lambrini Lukidis.