The Worker Support Committee held a meeting between students and cafeteria workers at Pitzer’s Grove House on the evening of Thursday Nov. 29.

The purpose of the meeting, which was conducted in both English and Spanish, was to maintain a dialogue between the students and the cafeteria workers, in particular, the events focusing around the Pitzer workers’ recently recognized union, (NAME OF UNION).

"We decided that people were not really aware [of the dining hall workers’ efforts]… [and] that it would be better for people to hear it from the workers, rather than students," said Pomona student Danilo Trisi ’02, who was one of the organizers of the events.

At the meeting, Trisi recalled the student/worker action that led up to the formation of the Pitzer union (NAME OF UNION), as well as the concerns of many of the cafeteria workers who believe that they have been mistreated by both the colleges that they work for and by Sodexho/Marriot and Bon Appetit, who maintain the colleges’ cafeterias.

"During the fall of 1997 workers approached students due to concerns about how [the workers] would be affected by the switching of food service provider[s] from Marriott to Aramark," began Trisi.

In the following spring, a fifty-five hour hunger strike by eleven students from the Five Colleges helped secure "a verbal commitment from Aramark that workers would not be worse off because of the change," continued Trisi.

The verbal agreement apparently fell through the following school year, however, when Aramark had to make cutbacks because they had underbid Marriott by $7 million for the contract.

This incident, in addition to student outrage over the firing of Scripps Dining Hall worker Neza Silva led to the circulation of a petition, "drafted by a core group of workers," expressing their grievances.

During the spring semester of 1998, 2,670 students, 221 faculty members, and 122 dining hall workers signed the petition. It took issue with, among other things, a lack of job security, work speed-ups, inconsistent scheduling, loss of seniority, a lack of affordable health care, and intimidation against speaking up about work-related issues.

The petition also called for a unionization effort, and for hands off elections that would be counted by a neutral third party.

During the spring semester of 2001, after much protesting by both the workers and the student supporters, Pitzer President Marilyn Massey "agreed to a secret ballot election that incorporated the main provisions of a card-check/neutrality agreement. Pitzer workers voted in favor of forming a union, and the negotiations for a new contract began."

After Trisi’s explanation, the meeting organizers introduced some of the workers present, including a Harvey Mudd worker who had recently been fired from her job, but was hired back due to student pressure.

The firing and subsequent rehiring of the worker also led to an investigation into the dining hall’s management practices, as there were reports that one of the managers had allegedly been tampering with the employees’ timecards.

Following this, Pitzer dining hall workers elaborated on what gains they made, and on the status of their first contract negotiation.

Currently, the Pitzer administration has told the workers that they will be allowed to work during the summer, but they still refuse to offer any sort of medical benefits, citing a lack of funds.

Pitzer is also offering the workers a 2.5% wage increase, which has been met with derision by the union.

"It’s nothing," said one dining hall worker.

A student pointed out the apparent irony of Pitzer’s claim that they lack the funds for any significant concessions, when he reported that an alumni contact of his said that the college was planning on throwing a $15,000 retirement party for Massey.

"This is basically a crime," said another worker.

In addition, the workers complained that the Pitzer administration was attempting to diminish student support for the workers by demanding that if they did not accept the school’s proposed contract by January 12, then they would lose everything they worked for. The workers pointed out that most of the negotiations would therefore take place while students were away for winter break. There was speculation that the administration could, however, be simply acting with the desire for a contract to be in place by the start of the spring semester.

The unionization of Pitzer’s workers has reverberated throughout the 5 C’s, Pomona included.

Pomona’s administration, while it has given its workers more benefits, has also attempted to foment worker/student resentment, alleged Evelyn Zepeda ’03.

"At Pomona, there was a letter that went out to students, explaining [that] the tuition rates [had increased]. Some of it due to dining hall improvements," reported Trisi, referring to a letter that was sent out to students and their families over the summer of 2000.

The meeting began with Pitzer student Zepeda, explaining how she would translate from English to Spanish and vice versa for the benefit of both the workers and the students. "Most people feel more comfortable about expressing things in their native language," explained Zepeda. She was quick to add, however, that most of the cafeteria workers were capable of understanding and speaking English.

The Worker Support Committee, in an effort to maintain student support for the dining hall workers, will continue to hold meetings every Monday night, at 9 p.m., in Pitzer’s Gold Center.