Honor ‘Ms. Susie’ by treating employees as they deserve

Dear Editor,

Thank you for wonderful articles about my friend, Susan Mullen, aka Ms. Susie, the Viking Goddess.

She was loved by many and will be greatly missed. We couldn’t go anywhere in a tri-county area without a college-aged person running up to talk to her and get a hug from her. She was a rock star.

When we were at the hospital, it was amazing how many visitors and well-wishers came to see her!

And now, the student council voted to put up some kind of memorial to her. That is so sweet. For a woman who never drove a car and never had a cell phone, she made a big impact on this town.

Ms. Susie worked full time as a cashier in the cafeteria at the University, for a company that the University contracts out for food services. After years of service, she only made $12 an hour, and had no benefits. If she had been working for the University, she would have made a decent living wage and had benefits, and might still be with us today.

What a shame that we allow the University to exploit our citizens in this way. I understand that our city has started this policy of exploiting workers, too. Both entities are not supposed to be profit driven but are supposed to run for the benefits of the citizens.

One way we could honor the life of this fine woman, is to treat others in her position better. Stop these practices of contracting out jobs to the lowest bidder.

Thank you,

Vicki Hartin