Helped by Schools' Social Justice Mission, University
Dining Hall Workers Unionize

By Kari Lydersen November 22, 2010
In These Times
http://www.inthesetimes.org/working/entry/6690/loyola_university_dining_hall_workers_unionize_in_chicago/

Loyola University dining hall workers were blessed at
St. Gertrude's Church in Chicago in October.
(Photo courtesy Kyle Schafer)

Grill cook Janet Irving has worked at the dining hall
for Loyola University in Chicago for 26 years. But she
still makes only $14 an hour, has no health insurance
and gets little benefit for her seniority in scheduling
shifts.

Issues like these are why the 204 workers from 16
countries decided to form a union. After a difficult
organizing campaign where they initially faced intense
opposition from their employer, Aramark, on Nov. 16 the
company agreed to recognize UNITE HERE Local 1 after 80
percent of workers signed union cards.

Contract negotiations will begin in coming months and
Irving, 49, is confident that things will get a lot
better for workers. "It's beautiful, it's great, only
good things can happen now," she said.

She said workers will be surveyed to come up with
specific demands for a wage increase, affordable health
insurance, seniority rights and other issues. Currently
Irving can't afford the health insurance Aramark
offers, so she is uninsured and relies on the public
county hospital for treatment for her heart condition.

Aramark had employed Loyola workers in the past and
there was a union contract. Then another company, Bon
Appetit Management Services, ran the cafeteria for six
years.

"Aramark is strictly about the company making money,
they're a multi-billion dollar corporation, they don't
care how we survive or that we are living pay day to
pay day," Irving said.

Irving said workers tried to unionize several years ago
but the effort was squashed by intimidation before it
got off the ground. This time, she said, the key was
keeping organizing secret until they had gained a
critical mass. Loyola students and professors and
Chicago interfaith and community groups also supported
the workers, including at several public rallies.

"Without them we wouldn't have made it," said Irving,
adding that continued support will be important as they
negotiate their first contract. "Students, priests, the
neighborhood, teachers - everybody stood behind us."

The unionizing drive was especially challenging because
of the diversity of the workforce, including refugees
and immigrants from Bosnia, Mexico, China and several
African countries. Some of them had negative
impressions of unions or heightened fears about
repression because of situations in their own
countries.

"Half of them were really scared, or didn't really
understand what a union is all about," said Irving. "It
was a little difficult, but we made it."

In October workers requested Aramark officially remain
neutral regarding the union, which also meant they
would recognize the union if a majority of workers
signed cards. In early November the company agreed to
these terms, likely swayed by the mass of support from
others at the university and in the surrounding
community. A letter from faculty to Aramark noted that:

In 2003 Aramark cafeteria workers walked off the job at
the U.N. in New York, leaving Kofi Annan and thousands
of others to find lunch on their own. More recently,
the NLRB filed a suit against Aramark (profits of $1.3
billion last year) for withholding union dues in
Philadelphia.

Students and faculty around the country have come out
in support of Aramark employees seeking union
representation, including American University in
Washington D.C., Indiana University Pennsylvania, and
others.

Why should Loyola students, faculty and staff care?
Employees of LUC contractors are part of our community,
and ought to be treated with the same fairness and
respect that the university treats its own employees.
What's good enough for Loyola ought to be good enough
for everyone who works on our campuses. Loyola's
mission, "dedicating ourselves to the Jesuit mission of
serving faith and promoting justice," is something that
should extend to each and every employee of our
university, regardless of who signs the paycheck.

The Loyola victory isn't the only good news for
university cafeteria workers this fall. In October,
cafeteria workers at DePaul University also represented
by UNITE Here Local 1 ratified a contract in a 68-0
vote that they say will mean big improvements in wages,
benefits and job security. The union sums up the gains:

* 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.

Both Loyola and DePaul are Catholic universities where
social justice is held up as a core value. This
provided leverage for students, cafeteria employees and
supporters demanding the universities live up to their
own values in how workers are treated. DePaul students
have been carrying out a living wage campaign that
included the delivery of a petition with 1,500
signatures to the university president last semester.

On its website, UNITE Here notes that the immigration
protection language is especially important. It quotes
Mexican worker Maryallana Nunez.

I have been working at DePaul University for over ten
years as a Cold Prep Cook. Almost all of my co-workers
are immigrants, and many of them are my family members.
My sister, husband, mother, sister-in-law all work here
and we are all immigrants from Mexico.

When we first started organizing our union, we wanted
the same thing as anyone else; free health insurance, a
living wage, and respect. But I was scared. I was
scared that the bosses would try and use my co-workers'
immigration status against them, that the bosses would
try and get us in trouble if we spoke up.

We still fought, and we won. I am happy. I am very
happy that we won free health insurance, but I am
happier that we won protection for my family and all my
co-workers who are immigrants. We don't have to be
afraid to speak up anymore.

Kari Lydersen, an In These Times contributing editor,
is a Chicago-based journalist writing for various
publications, including the Chicago Reader and The
Progressive. Her most recent book is Revolt on Goose
Island. She can be reached at [log in to unmask]

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