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Newspaper Editorial Sparks Heated Response at Northwestern

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Thu, 11/18/2010 - 15:57
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The day following our last guest post from the Northwestern Living Wage Campaign, the Daily Northwestern student newspaper weighed in on the issue of campus workers.

The editorial, “Living Wage Wrong for Northwestern,” argues that, “implementing a ‘living wage’ could actually harm campus workers.” They elaborated that a living wage might disqualify workers from government assistance like “earned income tax credit, child tax credits, Medicaid and food stamps.” 

You can read through the full editorial here. We think that the attitudes in the editorial reflect a deep disconnect between students and workers that exists on many campuses. They are attitudes that we often face when we campaign for real change, when we truly challenge our institutions to treat workers as equals in our communities. 
 
Of course, we think the best way to challenge these attitudes is to build real relationships with workers on campus and to end the invisibility of their stories and their lives (see our Building Community Across Counters campaign).
 
That’s just what the Northwestern students in the Living Wage Campaign have been doing. In their response, they wrote, “We challenge Northwestern as we have challenged ourselves: to really get to know the workers on campus.” They had more to say and all sorts of other folks weighed in on the forum pages of the paper in the following days as well:
 
 
When Cleve Jones, the remarkable organizer and activist featured in the film Milk, spoke on campus, he jumped into the fray as well – firmly behind the Living Wage Campaign, going so far as to directly call out the Daily editorial:
 

What would you say if the student newspaper at your school wrote an editorial like this one? How would you organize to change it? Have you faced common attitudes at your school? Send us a message with your thoughts. 

Updates from the Northwestern Struggle

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 18:37
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[Editor’s Note: Not to be left out of the exciting stories coming out of Chicago lately, this quick update comes from Michael Waxman, a student leader of the Northwestern Living Wage Campaign.] 

 
The Northwestern Living Wage Campaign has had an exciting past couple weeks!
 
On October 23, Northwestern organizers turned out 120 students and 22 workers and their families to march in the university’s Homecoming Parade in support of an inclusive Northwestern community.
 
Northwestern students and workers in the Homecoming Parade.
 

      Before the parade, the Living Wage Campaign used this video to encourage folks to join them.
 
Beyond students and workers, the Campaign has also just begun reaching out to other members of the university community, such as university donors and members of the Board of Trustees.
 
Meanwhile, the administration is working with Campaign leadership to implement the community benefits that the university agreed to extend to workers last spring. These benefits include:
  • Non-university classes
  • Contractor ID cards that provide library access
  • Increased access to campus shuttles
  • Educational grants
  • Discounts at local stores
  • Northwestern theater and music grants
There’s a lot of work left to do, but the Northwestern community remains committed to winning living wages for all its workers.
 
[Another Editor’s Note: We here at Stir It Up think that the joint student/worker presence at the Homecoming parade is a great example of Building Community Across Counters!]

 

Breaking News at DePaul: Dining Workers Win Improved Health Benefits and Wages!

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Fri, 10/22/2010 - 12:08
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"Even with all the obstacles that we went through...we stood together....and we got a great contract."            -Chanteen Hardaway, Campus Dining Worker, DePaul University
 
After several difficult months of organizing and negotiating, the campus dining workers at DePaul, members of UNITE HERE Local 1, won an agreement with their employer Chartwells (Compass Group) that gives them vast improvements in wages, health benefits and immigration protection language.  The contract was ratified last night by a 68 to 0 vote! 
 
DePaul is the largest Catholic University in the United States.  The DePaul students' insistence that the DePaul administration uphold Catholic values of social justice was instrumental in the campaign's success.  [To hold all Catholic Universities accountable to this standard, sign our national letter to Catholic administrators.]
 
The DePaul student body supported the workers with a campus Living Wage Campaign throughout the entire process.  Last semester, in addition to putting on a student-worker concert to build support for a Living Wage, students addressed their concerns to the DePaul Board of Trustees and, in a powerful show of solidarity, personally delivered a 1,500-signature-strong petition to the President of DePaul.
 
The result of the student-worker solidarity:  
  • Fully provided single-coverage health plan for 80 full-time workers by the end of the contract; and only $85 per month for full family coverage.
  • Minimum wages of between $11.80 and $14.30 per hour (depending on job classification) for presently employed workers by the end of the contract.  Right now workers make as little as $9.25 per hour. 
  • Contract language that protects immigrants from employer abuse, including clauses ensuring that the employees will not be disciplined for Social Security no-match letters, that the employer will limit immigration status checks to what I-9 forms require, and that employees have a 2-year window to return to their job in the case of immigration problems.
A great contract, and a great campaign.  The DePaul Living Wage Campaign of 2010 had a huge impact on both the students and the workers who were involved.  
 
At last week's celebratory BBQ, students and workers had an opportunity to reflect on their experience.  Check out the video and then find out how you can get involved on your campus! 
 

With this huge victory under its belt the DePaul Living Wage Campaign will continue to work with the university administration to improve the university's campus-wide living wage policy.

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.

 

Standing Together, Dancing Together

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Thu, 05/06/2010 - 11:30
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On Friday, April 23, students, faculty and campus dining workers at DePaul University in Chicago came together for an incredible celebration of solidarity. Over 200 students and 60 campus dining workers attended the “Living Wage Palooza,” which featured speeches from workers and professors as well as performances from 12 different student-led musical and spoken word acts, many of whom prepared material specific to the cause.
 
Amid the weight of the issue -- “I was moved to tears watching one worker in particular, Chanteen, express simultaneously her humility and frustration with the conditions that exist as a contracted employee at DePaul University,” said Dan Brown one of the lead student organizers – workers and students still found the space and inspiration to dance with each other and feed off each other’s energy.
 
"I thought it was inspiring, remarkable and touching,” campus dining worker Chanteen Hardaway reflected after the event. “It was shocking to know that that many students care about the workers. It was Friday and they could have been getting ready to go out and party, but instead they came and were kickin' it with the old folks."
 
Student organizer Jenna Bergevin said, “The event was a great opportunity for the students and workers to interact without a counter in between them.  Seeing everyone together was a powerful reminder that when people come together they can accomplish their goals!” 
 
Campus dining worker Alan Camacho agreed. "I felt that the event was awesome -- seeing all the students there, all the workers come out, even in the rain. For me it was a sign of all the work we've put in the past two years."
 
 “Watching students put on ponchos as opposed to retiring to their comfortable apartments solidified for me the urgency and determination of the DePaul University community,” said Dan Brown.
 
The event came less than two weeks after DePaul students delivered over 1500 petition signatures in support of living wages on campus to the University President. The workers have also now filed for an election to join the hundreds of other workers leaving Service Workers United (SWU) in favor of UNITE HERE in order to lift standards for cafeteria workers across the country. 
 
The DePaul community will surely take the inspiration from the Living Wage Palooza forward as the struggle to bring justice to DePaul’s cafeterias continues.
 

Students and workers gather for the event.
 

Chanteen Hardaway speaks about working in DePaul’s cafeteria.
 

Campus dining workers pose for a photo at the doorstep of a student house heavily involved in the living wage campaign.
 

 Workers show off student-made Local 1 cookies. The student and the worker committee all wore their UNITE HERE Local 1 buttons as well.

DePaul Students Take Another Step Toward Living Wages

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Thu, 04/15/2010 - 14:58
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Over the past couple of months, students at DePaul University have been knocking on dorm-room doors, speaking to classes and meeting with friends to gain support for living wages and affordable healthcare for contracted campus workers. Through their hard work, they collected over 1500 petition signatures. Earlier this week, a delegation of 16 of the student leaders delivered the petitions straight into the University President’s hands!
 
 
The next major step for the campaign is a community event on Friday, April 23, which will celebrate the achievements the workers and students have made so far and send a clear message that the DePaul community will stand together to ensure justice for its workers. If you are in Chicago, please join us! The event is at 3:30 PM at the corner of Kenmore and Belden in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Check out the Facebook event and share the flyer.
 
 
And finally, if you need a refresher on the importance of the campaign, check out this video.
 
 

 

Video: Living Wage Campaign at DePaul

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Mon, 03/01/2010 - 15:41
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Campus dining workers from DePaul talk about their jobs in this great video from the DePaul Committee for Social Justice.

 


Email depaullivingwage[at]gmail.com for info on getting involved in the campaign, and sign the petition here.

 

Chicago Students: Rally with Northwestern on Feb. 24

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 19:42
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The Northwestern Living Wage Campaign has an important rally coming up next week.  We encourage all students in the Chicago area to come out to support.  Complete an "I'll be there form" if you're definitely going to attend.

For those of you not familiar with the Northwestern campus, "the Arch" referenced in the flyer is at Sheridan and Chicago Aves. in Evanston, IL.  It is a short walk from the Davis Purple Line stop.

 

 

Check out the event on Facebook, as well as the video invite!

A Quick Update on Northwestern

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Wed, 02/10/2010 - 20:52
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Today, Unite Here International President John Wilhelm issued a statement in support of the Northwestern Living Wage Campaign.  Just thought we'd take a moment to share:

“Thousands of dining hall workers, janitors, security guards and support staff make our nation’s wonderful universities function. Colleges should strive to create inclusive educational communities that recognize the hard work of those often invisible people who make these beacons of higher education operate on a day to day basis. University budgets should not be balanced on the backs of working people. Our nation’s labor movement is strengthened by students like those involved in Northwestern’s Living Wage Campaign fighting to make sure workers are treated fairly with dignity and respect. Hundreds of thousands of working families across America stand with students at Northwestern in calling for university workers to be paid a living wage.”

Northwestern Students and Workers Campaign for Living Wage

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 13:05
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In a long-overdue Stir It Up-date, the students and workers at Northwestern University are waging an impressive campaign for living wages for campus workers.  Though we at Stir It Up are not running this campaign, we are doing everything we can do to help out.

For now, I want to just share a few bits:

For a compelling story of the importance of living wage campaigns, read Unite Here Local 450 member Maurice Nix's column that ran in the student publications North by Northwestern and the Daily Northwestern.  Nix, known as the "sandwich guy" in Northwestern's student center and a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement, writes, "Like in Birmingham in the 1960s, we are not asking for the world, we are asking for basic dignity and respect."

We encourage students from across the country to sign onto Northwestern's living wage petition and invite your friends to do the same by joining the Facebook event for the petition.

The campaign is taking an important step this Thursday -- students will deliver Valentine's Day cards to the University administration encouraging them to "have a heart" for campus workers.  

As more events unfold, we'll keep you posted.

 

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