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Dining Hall Workers Rally at Harvard University

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Thu, 05/19/2011 - 15:04
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A group of Local 35 members traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 12 to join in a rally with Harvard campus dining workers who are members of UNITE HERE Local 26.

Workers, students and community allies marched through Harvard Yard following a meeting between Harvard University officials and Local 26 as part of the union's contract negotiations. At the rally, the Local 35 delegation had an opportunity to talk about the differences between the Yale and Harvard contracts.

Local 26 President Brian Lang called union members' achievements in New Haven "a source of inspiration." Local 35 President Bob Proto encouraged the Harvard workers to fight for important gains in their next contract, noting that "there's a standard of quality of jobs that Harvard needs to raise up to Yale's."

Click here to read the article in The Harvard Crimson.

Video: Rally at Bronx Community College

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 11:43
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On Tuesday March 1st the students, faculty and workers of Bronx Community College gathered at the heart of campus in a rally to defend the jobs of the cafeteria workers who were laid off at the end of February.  Healthy Choice, another food service contractor, took over the college cafeteria operation on Monday March 14th 2011. None of the workers have been hired by the new company. The College, so far, has refused to include the retention of the workers in their requirements of the new company.

Here's a video of the first part of the rally taken by a B.C.C. student, whose YouTube channel you can view here.

"What do we want? Jobs back!! When do we want them? Now!"

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Wed, 03/02/2011 - 20:03
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....a cry that echoed across the Bronx Community College campus yesterday afternoon.

The rally in defense of the cafeteria workers' jobs at BCC yesterday was awesome.  I'll post more when I get a chance to breathe (and hopefully some video of some powerful speeches).  For now here are a couple of great pictures.

A picture of the group of workers who are fighting to get their jobs back:

 

And of workers, students, faculty and community members marching through the heart of campus:

 

You can sign a petition supporting these men and women, no matter what school you are affiliated with, right at http://stiritupcampaign.org/bccpetition.  (Share this link!)

Breaking News at Loyola University Chicago

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Wed, 10/13/2010 - 17:29
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This afternoon, campus dining workers at Loyola University Chicago delivered petitions to their general manager demanding a fair process to form a union.  A worker organizing committee, which includes worker leaders from locations across Loyola and across shifts and departments, had been training and organizing underground over the recent months in preparation for today. The committee had about 70% of their workers signed on the petition they delivered.


The worker organizing committee from Loyola University Chicago

“I am here because I want to have a voice on the job and to get more respect,” Carolina Aguilar said recently about why she is a member of the worker organizing committee. .

Danielle Wisnasky, a Loyola senior who has worked part-time in the cafeterias since she was a freshman and who is also part of the organizing committee, said, “As a student at Loyola, it is discouraging to work in an environment where the Jesuit mission is abused and overlooked.”

The campus dining workforce at Loyola comes from all over the world, with 16 different countries of origin. There are over 180 workers total, many of whom are immigrants and most of whom people of color. 

The committee leaders see their organizing not just as a way to change their jobs but also as a way to prepare to change the rest of their lives. “I want to be part of the organizing of the union because it will be something that will give us, all who are part of it, more life experience to know how to fight for anything we want,” said Eva Rangel.

Students and faculty have quickly begun mobilizing support for the workers. If you are a student at Loyola, you can sign a solidarity letter here. If you are a professor at Loyola, you can sign one here. There will also be a gathering of support on Wednesday, October 20 at 4 pm at the “Ashtray” on Loyola’s Lake Shore campus. [UPDATE 10/19: The event has been moved to St. Gertrude's Church at 6214 N. Glenwood, a short walk from campus.]

If you don’t go to Loyola at all but want to show your support for these workers as well as workers at all Catholic universities, sign our national solidarity letter here. 

We’ll keep you up to date as the organizing and solidarity efforts unfold.

Students and Workers Defend Education at William Paterson University

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Fri, 10/08/2010 - 16:21
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Last Thursday was a big day in the fight against budget cuts in public education.  Students, faculty and other members of campus communities rallied together in a national day of action to defend public education.  Rallies took place all over the country; and I was lucky enough to participate in the action at William Paterson University, which was organized by the WPU Young Democratic Socialists along with other student organizations.

Along with me were the WPU campus dining workers, who used their lunchtime break to come out and rally with the student protesters.  The workers, who are serviced by UNITE HERE Local 100, came out mostly as supporters of the student protests against rising tuition and other effects of cuts in funding, but also to express their concern over how budget cuts will affect their own jobs. 

It was great to see the campus workers standing in solidarity with students over student-related concerns. This expression of solidarity is the kind of moment that the Building Community Across Counters campaign is all about.  Here's a video of the student march across campus.  As you'll see participation and enthusiasm were tremendous. 

Pomona College Dining Workers Fight for a Union

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Wed, 09/15/2010 - 11:28
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The campus dining workers at Pomona College are fighting to win a union.  And the Pomona students have their back.  

On March 1st of this year the campus dining workers at Pomona College went public in their demand for a fair unionization process, free of employer intimidation.  Over 90% of the College's dining workers have signed a petition to the College administration demanding such a process.  Since that day the students of Pomona College have stood in solidarity with the workers.  The student-worker solidarity website, Pomona Workers for Justice has chronicled this effort every step of the way.

So far the administration of Pomona College--which employs the workers-- has refused to honor the workers' demand.  

If last semester is any indication, the students and workers will not let the College's position stand.  In just several months the Pomona Worker for Justice staged a large rally on campus, had a candlelight vigil for labor peace, organized a boycott of the cafeteria and gathered in large numbers to present their petitions to Pomona President David Oxtoby.  They also produced tremendous videos of the action.  

The petition action:




And here's the students' take on what happened at the rally:

 

The struggle for justice at Pomona College is right in line with how UNITE HERE and the Stir It Up campaign are fighting to change the food service industry. Expect regular updates on Stir It Up as this campaign unfolds.  And if you want to get in touch with the student-worker committee at Pomona to hear more about how they've helped organize the workers' campaign, you can do so here.  

Message to the Mayor: “We Have No Intention of Going Backwards”

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Fri, 09/10/2010 - 11:42
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The mayor of New Haven got a message yesterday. A message that he probably didn’t want to hear. 

The school cafeteria workers in the New Haven school system will not stand by idly as the city attempts to push cuts in their benefits. The cafeteria workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 217, paid a visit to the Mayor John DeStefano Tuesday afternoon to present a petition with the workers' position on the city’s latest proposal.

Here’s a video of Cathy Rubano, a school cook and union shop steward, addressing the Mayor with her concerns over cuts in medical benefits, along with the Mayor’s response:

Read more after the jump

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“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 Personal Reflection on the Farmworker Freedom March

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Thu, 04/22/2010 - 15:09
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I have marched with many people for many causes, but I’m sure I’ve logged more miles with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) than anyone else. It helps that they tend to have wonderfully epic marches, but the years have added up too.
 
Other than supporting my dad’s union, the CIW’s Taco Bell campaign was the first labor solidarity work I had ever done. Early during my freshman year of college, my student group brought a CIW member to Northwestern to talk about the campaign. A few months later, two carloads of us drove down to Louisville for an 8-mile march through town, ending at Yum Brands corporate headquarters. I still remember that trip vividly – we forgot that Louisville and Chicago were in different time zones, got to the march late and were running through town trying to catch it. I wrote in my journal that night, “I'm looking forward to doing more things like this protest in the future. ... I felt like I was doing something worthwhile.” Who knew that over six years later I’d have dedicated my entire life to labor struggle, and would still be marching with the CIW?
 
I think a lot of people have that experience with the CIW, though. There is something magnetic to it. Maybe it is the inspiring people you meet, maybe it is the art and music, or maybe it is that from their base in Immokalee they keep beating some of the biggest companies in the world. Regardless, they help everyone believe that however long the struggle, we can change the world. 
 
The CIW’s classic energy was on full display at the Farmworker Freedom March last weekend, but I think this march held extra meaning for me personally because it also reaffirmed the work I do every day. When I showed up from Chicago, one of the very first people I saw was Isaac, a UNITE HERE Local 362 worker leader from Disney. He was proudly sporting a red shirt matching my own. He remembered me from Atlanta, where we had previously both traveled to build a fighting union with airport food service workers. We walked side-by-side a lot of the day as he filled me in on his efforts to organize his own coworkers to take on Disney. The next day, even more support came from Local 362, including Local president Eric Clinton and members from Disney and the Orlando airport. 
 
 
Meanwhile, I kept meeting students from all around the country who are active with UNITE HERE, and other allies who were just excited to see us on the march. I felt like I was a part of something much bigger and the connection between what I’m doing now and what I was doing six years ago seemed as strong as ever. Sometimes I guess you just know beyond any doubt that you’re in the right place. Through all of the stressful details, we’re building relationships that make up a movement with incredible potential -- to bring justice to the fields, to bring justice to cafeterias and to change all of our lives.

 

 

Video of Sarah Lawrence Work Stoppage

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Tue, 03/02/2010 - 12:19
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The AVI campus food service workers--fighting for a just contract with full family health benefits and a pension plan--engage in a lunch-hour work stoppage, and the students get their back....in large numbers.  

The video was shot and edited by Monica Wise,a member of Sarah Lawrence College Worker Justice, who, in addition to fighting alongside the workers for union representation and a fair contract, is filming a documentary on the workers' struggle.  Enjoy the action:

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