Heather Lawson walked out on day one.

Her new employer, a private contractor, was offering a little more pay to custodial staff at the University of North Alabama. But, she said, it came with a bigger cost: those workers would no longer qualify for state retirement, generous time off policies or free tuition for their children.

“By the end of the day, I finished my shift out, and I turned in my stuff and I left,” said Lawson who’d worked for the university in Florence for four years. “I just felt like it wasn’t worth staying.”

Lawson is one of at least 38 employees impacted by the university’s transition to SSC Services for Education, a private company based in Knoxville, Tennessee that provides educational facilities management, the TV station WAFF-48 reported.

She made $11.44 an hour, before the university formally switched over to SSC on June 2. It wasn’t enough to pay the bills, and Lawson said she worked on the side cleaning houses. But, she said, the state benefits made the low-paying job worthwhile.

With SSC, Lawson said her pay went up to $12.34 an hour, but she said her health care costs skyrocketed, and she said she would have to work holidays without extra pay. She wouldn’t have the benefits she used to have as a state employee, benefits provided to others employed by the school.

“I would just feel like I would be working to pay my benefits,” Lawson told AL.com. “I wouldn’t have money to live and survive on for my kids and myself.”

Now, she’s without a job as a single mom of three.

Spokespeople for the university and SSC did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Union representatives with the United Campus Workers Southeast blasted the change in a letter to university president Ken Kitts, the board of trustees, and Evan Thornton, who oversees the university’s financial affairs.

“Many of the loyal environmental service workers who have quit during this transition to SSC say they would return if UNA were to reverse its decision and welcome them back as state employees with their previous benefits,” the letter released Friday reads. “We urge UNA to sever its contract with SSC Educational Services and rehire these workers as state employees at a fair wage.”

SSC told WAFF-48 in a statement that the company was excited for the partnership.

“Through this transition, SSC will bring its national expertise, advanced equipment, and proven systems that support a cleaner, healthier environment for students, faculty, and staff,” the statement reads. “Equally important, we are investing in the people who make this work possible—providing them with the tools, training, and opportunities they need to thrive and grow in their careers.”

Sarah Young worked for the university’s environmental services for 18 years. But she resigned just a few days after SSC’s orientation, and now she’s headed back to school.

“I appreciate the opportunities I’ve had her[e] at UNA, but the work environment, particular[ly] the way things have been managed, has become toxic for me,” Young wrote in her June 5 resignation letter to UNA representatives. “It has negatively impacted my mental health, and I no longer feel I can stay in a place where I’m not respected or supported.”

Employees said they were notified in mid-May, a few weeks before SSC would start its orientation. Lawson said she was initially told she had three days to decide whether she’d keep her job with the new employer or leave.

“A lot of us did go ahead and do it because we were worried about not having our consistent income coming through,” Lawson said. “It’s a really big step back, and it caused so many emotions. It’s just been very stressful since then.”