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Local 100

A Year of Victories!

Submitted by Kyle Schafer on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 12:35
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Two weeks ago, more than 140 campus dining workers at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) have won union representation, choosing to join UNITE HERE Local 11.

 
"I've worked at LMU for 6 years and am so proud to have been part of winning the union. I love taking care of the students here and it was great to have their support. The opportunity for better wages and benefits will mean a lot to our families," said Tina Jones, a cashier at the C-Lion store at Loyola Marymount University.
 
 
Campus dining workers at LMU, the largest Catholic university on the West Coast, are employees of the multinational food service company Sodexo. 
 
They are the latest group of campus dining workers to celebrate a victory with UNITE HERE in what has been a tremendous school year so far, especially at Catholic universities. Here’s a quick recap:

 

  • Just last month, workers at Georgetown University won union recognition. There have been a number of good stories about the community involvement in that victory. We posted links to two of them: here and here.
  • In April, Loyola Marymount is the third group of campus dining workers to win the union this month alone. Workers at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada and at Stevenson University in Baltimore joined as well!
 
With this kind of momentum, we here at Stir It Up are excited about what the next school year holds. Stay tuned! Or better yet, get involved!
 
 

 

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!)

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

St. Peter's College Cafeteria Workers Win Union

Submitted by Ian Mikusko on Tue, 11/23/2010 - 12:00
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More than 50 campus dining workers at St. Peter’s College have voted to unionize and join UNITE HERE Local 100. Campus dining workers at New Jersey’s only Jesuit, Catholic college are employees of the multinational food service company Sodexo.
 
The Sodexo workers at St. Peter’s voted on Monday, November 22nd to join UNITE HERE Local 100. The workers will now prepare to negotiate a first contract.
 
“I support the union because we deserve a voice on the job. Now we will be able to negotiate for better wages and benefits that will mean a lot to our families,” said Cleveland Williams, who has worked at St. Peter’s for 4 years.
 
Emily Martinez, a St. Peter’s cafeteria worker said, “To me, having a union means having fairness. St. Peter’s is a Catholic college and fairness and justice are values for everyone here. For me as a Catholic, I’m glad we were able to choose to form a union and make these values real.”
 
The St. Peter’s workers are the second group of cafeteria workers at a Catholic college or university to win union representation with UNITE HERE in the past week. On November 16th, over 200 dining workers at Loyola University Chicago joined UNITE HERE Local 1.
 
In joining UNITE HERE Local 100, the St. Peter’s workers join campus food service workers at fourteen other campuses including City University of New York, Manhattan College, New York Law School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the New School. With UNITE HERE Local 100, campus dining workers at New York-area university and college campuses have achieved contracts that improve wages, ensure a safe and humane workload, and get access to affordable family health care. 

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:

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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