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Student Guest Post

“This is the labor movement. This is justice.”

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Tue, 08/03/2010 - 12:50
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[Stir It Up Editor’s Note: The post below is by Kellyn Lewis, a student leader of the Northwestern Living Wage Campaign. It is a reflection on his participation in UNITE HERE’s July 22 national action (see In These Times).]

 
On July 22nd, I saw the world. I was sitting in the middle of one of Chicago's largest downtown streets, East Wacker Dr., outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel shouting, "We are Human Beings! Enough is Enough!" To my left, I had locked arms with one of my best college running mates, and fellow Northwestern Living Wage Campaign leader. And to my right, I felt the intense presence of a housekeeping worker in a Chicago hotel covered by Unite Here! Their chants echoed into my ears as I bellowed out the cry for social justice, the cry for worker humanity. It was a meditation chant. Our words hummed along side the thousands who had lined up at the edge of the Chicago River to support the nation’s labor movement. While I had worked with these workers in the past, and had led a student rally of over 400 people on my campus, being locked tight with the people I stand for each day invigorated my senses.
 

 

It was at this moment that I began to drift off into another place. My conscious mind had control of my chants, and my subconscious wandered. Endlessly through the thoughts and abyss of my mind (the jungle that my new privileged position of higher education has brought me). It shifted over the pages of Marx, Rawls, Berlin, and all the radical philosophers I iconize on a daily basis. I also reminisced about all the ups and downs my entire extended family has had with social position, with class, with race. My grandparents who fought their whole lives just as the workers are now doing. My parents who themselves have gone through tumultuous financial crises.
 
In that moment, a moment of solidarity among a crowd, and internal solitude in the “radical” social theories, I felt at home. My physical reality, the reality that I was doing something for the people that were so much like the people that raised me, and my spiritual reality, the spirit of radically enlightened thought, merged.  This is the labor movement. This is justice. And it is this powerful feeling that can envelope our generation, whether you come from the highest social order to the lowest socio-economic background. It is this place that we should all as college students strive for. Do not over look a social movement, in all of its political tactics, because it is this history of social change that defines us all. This is what campuses need, and my peers that are involved with the campus campaign saw this too. It is a necessity to visualize this social position when you read about injustice, and to embody your learned knowledge when you take action. This is the state of social change.
 
(Photo by Jerome Grand)
 

A Year-End Update from DePaul Student Leaders

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Fri, 06/18/2010 - 11:12
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[Editor’s Note: This end-of-the-year update from the DePaul Living Wage Campaign comes from DePaul students Pamela Barrientos and Alyssa Wieting, both of whom were leaders of the campaign all year and will be returning in the fall.]

As our academic year wrapped up, our final event was a great success.  We decided to plan a faculty/staff luncheon, inviting many with whom we had met earlier in the year.  At the same time, for some of the faculty/staff this was their introduction to the living wage campaign.  The student organizer overseeing and directing the event, Jenna Bergevin (DePaul 2013) ran the luncheon smoothly and efficiently, adding another amazing event to the growing strength of our campaign.

Jenna began with a PowerPoint presentation outlining the progress of the campaign, and the next steps for the future.  Included were worker and student testimonies, on their experiences and connection to DePaul and the Living Wage Campaign.  The staff/faculty engaged in the presentation by asking questions, brainstorming with us on enthusiastically agreed to start circulating petitions within their departments.

About two weeks before the Faculty Luncheon, around ten of our student committee members were able to attend the Board of Trustees Brunch. This was an important event to attend as the most the involved students on campus are invited to share their concerns, praises, and critiques of DePaul University to the trustees.  The brunch had a very inviting atmosphere as each student was assigned to a certain table with about three trustee members at each.  Prewritten questions were discussed as we casually ate brunch and talked.  Most students began with their praises of the university, and as the event progressed more critiques made their way to the surface.  The Living Wage campaign and our concerns of DePaul upholding its Vincentian mission was discussed at almost every table with a very positive response from trustee members.  It was obvious that they were interested in the work we were doing and gave many of us their support as they wished us the best in our endeavors.

Finally, a few weeks ago our organizers were blessed to be able to share the joy of officially recognizing Unite Here Local 1 as the official union for Chartwells workers at DePaul.  Congratulations to all of the workers.  Together we are strong, and ready to take on the challenge recognizing and bringing justice to worker's rights at DePaul.

 

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