Concert

Standing Together, Dancing Together

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Thu, 05/06/2010 - 11:30

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.