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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.

Hunter College Fights Back Against Tuition Hikes

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 14:37
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[Editor’s note: This post was written by Hunter College students, Mike Synan and Claudia O’Brien. Last year at Hunter College, students and workers stood together to demand that the cafeteria workers not lose their full family health benefits. Now students at Hunter, and throughout the CUNY system, are fighting back against tuition hikes.]

Last year the CUNY Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition by 5% in the spring and up to another 5% in the fall. In addition Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed a budget that includes massive cuts to the CUNY system. All of this comes on top of a string of budget cuts and tuition hikes that has resulted in a 51% increase since 2000.

However, students have a long history of fighting these attacks. Beginning in 1969 when Black and Latino students initiated the Open Admissions strike, CUNY was free and open to all. Only a few years later tuition was implemented; the first year that students of color were a majority in CUNY.   Militantly carving a space for themselves in the CUNY system starting with the gains of the Open Admissions struggle, students of color have been the focus of these attacks.

Recently students at Hunter College formed the group Hunter Fights Back in order to continue that struggle. Last semester Hunter Fights Back started a petition demanding that Hunter College President Jennifer Raab take a stand against the budget cuts and tuition hikes.

Students are also asking President Raab to support the cafeteria workers and make sure that their contract is honored. This demand was included because the interests of students and workers are intertwined. The petition will be presented to President Raab later in the spring. Regardless of the President’s response students and workers will continue to fight and work to unite their struggles—as the global economic crisis continues there is no doubt that these attacks on our livelihoods will keep coming.  

Photo via wallg's Flickr Photostream

"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!)

Rally today in the Bronx! Cafeteria Workers Defend Jobs

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 08:51
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Today at 12pm the cafeteria workers of Bronx Community College are fighting to ensure that they all keep their jobs when a new vendor comes in to operate the cafeteria.  The rally is taking place at the B.C.C. campus. Even if you don't go to BCC, you can sign this petition expressing support for the workers. 

Here's a video with two of the workers, Carmen Ovalle and Victor Bonet, speaking up about the situation that they're going through:

Cafeteria Workers at Bronx Community College Rally to Defend Jobs

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 18:29
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Yesterday afternoon, the cafeteria workers at Bronx Community College found themselves without their old job after their employer CulinArt lost its food service contract with the College. The workers--who have worked at BCC for up to 15 years--are taking a stand to defend their jobs.  All they are asking is that the company that takes over at BCC (as of now, unknown) offer to rehire all of the workers.  On Tuesday they are rallying with the students and faculty of Bronx Community College. Here's the info:

What: Cafeteria workers at Bronx Community College rally to keep jobs

Where: Main entrance to BCC at University Ave. (near 181st St.)

When:  Tuesday March 1st at 12:00 noon

 

Cafeteria Workers of Bronx Community College Fight to Keep Jobs

Submitted by Hannah Caruso on Mon, 02/21/2011 - 21:02
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“We are devastated because we don’t know if we have a job at the end of the month, and no one is telling us anything…If I lose this job and my kids get sick, how will I get them medicine?” -Victor Benitez
 
Victor Benitez has worked as a dishwasher and a grill cook for CulinArt at Bronx Community College for years. Last week he learned that he and his co-workers may not have jobs there as soon as the end of February. The college is bringing in a new company to run the cafeteria, and the administration has refused to make sure the new company hires all the current workers. The workers are members of UNITE HERE Local 100, and have negotiated a contract with full family health benefits.
 
Bronx Community College is an institution that represents opportunity in one of the poorest Congressional districts in the country. About 38% of South Bronx residents live below the poverty line, according to 2010 Census data. The college administration should make sure the workers can keep their jobs, no matter what company is brought in. The Professional Staff Congress (the faculty union for the CUNY system), along with several Student Government Association senators, has pledged to support the workers in their struggle. Local 100 will continue to fight until they win the right to keep their jobs, and continue to support their families.  
 
Photo is of (left to right): Victor Bonet, Carmen Ovale, Mary Torres and Victor Benitez, all cafeteria workers and Local 100 members at Bronx Community College

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:

Work Stoppage! Students and Workers Take Action at Sarah Lawrence

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Thu, 02/25/2010 - 16:00
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As I’ve mentioned before, the food service workers at Sarah Lawrence College—employees of AVI Foodsystems—are fighting for a contract with full family health benefits, decent wages, a secure retirement plan, and the assurance that they’ll receive respect on the job. Yesterday the workers at the two main food service locations, The Pub and Bates, stopped working in the middle of the lunch hour to protest the current state of affairs, and to demand a fair contract from AVI. 


 
And the workers were not alone! SLC Worker Justice, a student organization devoted to supporting campus workers, organized the students and faculty to be a part of the workers’ action. As the work stoppage began, these students chanted with the workers, spoke out in support of the workers and encouraged other students to join the group as we marched across campus. As the group moved from The Pub to Bates to the Student Life Committee meeting, the group grew from around 10 students to over 100. Almost every patron in the entire cafeteria joined the workers in chants demanding a fair contract and health insurance.
 
I’ll post video footage of the action in the coming days—there was great worker and student testimony that I’d like to share with the Stir It Up community. For now, I’d just like to thank the students who have been so involved and supportive in the workers’ struggle! SLC Worker Justice had been passing out the above leaflet at almost every meal for the past week-and-a-half, educating the rest of the campus about the workers situation and mobilizing the entire community to support the workers when the time came. Yesterday it came…and if AVI doesn’t change their tune in negotiation, it will come again.  

Food Service Fights in New York: Victories Past and the Fight Ahead

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Wed, 01/20/2010 - 15:03
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Last semester, Hunter College students, faculty and staff united in support of the College’s cafeteria workers. These workers, employees of the College’s food service vendor, AVI Foodsystems, were facing the prospect of losing their free family health benefits after AVI took over the contract from Sodexo. Thanks, not only to the bravery of the workers and their refusal to accept dramatic concessions, but to the support of the Hunter College students and faculty, the workers won a good contract—one that included fully paid health benefits for their families. 
 
Here’s testimony from Owen Hill, one of the students who fought in solidarity with the men and women who serve food to the Hunter College community. You can learn more about student-worker campaigns at UNITE HERE’s student-worker solidarity site. 
 
"The majority of Hunter students are working class students; not only do we come from working class households, but most of us work to make it through school.  So it’s only natural that Unite Here Local 100’s fight to save our cafeteria workers’ raises, pensions, andhealth care struck such a chord with Hunter’s student body.  For, just like the workers that Hunter students so proudly stood in solidarity with, every day our living standards and those of our families are continuing to melt under the withering blows of slashed budgets, greedy employers and a deregulated banking system.  Indeed, the response on our campus was so enormous that AVI Foodsystems, the cafeteria workers’ employer, was forced to back down on the vast majority of their demands before the student/faculty boycott of the cafeteria even began.  The resounding victory of Unite Here Local 100 and the courageous workers over a company that was demanding substantial concessions, points the way forward for students and workers alike, and reminds us all once again that solidarity really is the only way to win."
 
Preach on, Owen! As someone who was involved in the fight that brought students and workers together at Hunter College, I can tell you that Owen’s testimony is no overstatement. 
 
Unfortunately, AVI Foodsystems seems to have not learned their lesson from the student-worker solidarity they had to deal with at Hunter.  At nearby Sarah Lawrence College, where AVI also took over the contract to provide food service, workers and students have formed an alliance to fight for fair compensation for the food service workers at the College. Having won union recognition with Local 100 several months ago, the workers at Sarah Lawrence, along with their student allies, are now fighting for a similar contract to that won by the workers at Hunter College. So far, AVI has been resistant to accepting the reasonable position of the workers and has not been willing to budge on providing the workers with full family health benefits.
 
Check back for updates on Sarah Lawrence as the battle for full health benefits and a fair contract unfolds. 
 
Photo, by Shane Valazquez, is of Owen Hill speaking at October 5th 2009 rally for AVI cafeteria workers outside Hunter College.

Food Service Workers at Sarah Lawrence College Win Union Recognition!

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 12:52
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Last Friday the food service workers at Sarah Lawrence College were officially recognized as UNITE HERE Local 100 members. 75% of the workers, employees of AVI Foodsystems, signed a union authorization card. This is a great victory for the workers who, along with food service workers at Hunter College and the University of Southern California, had to struggle to get it.  Next up for the Sarah Lawrence workers…contract negotiations. We’ll keep you up-to-date as that unfolds, and we’ll post video of worker and student reaction to the initial Sarah Lawrence victory soon.   

In the meantime, here's a repost of the student-worker delegation at Sarah Lawrence that preceded the workers winning a neuatrality agreement from AVI by one day:  

 

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