After nine months of negotiations, seven months since their contract’s expiration, five months since their public picket, and a week and a half since an authorization vote, Northwestern dining workers have gone on strike.
This comes amidst ongoing conversations between their union, Local 1, and Northwestern’s food service provider, Compass Group.
Veronica Reyes has been working at Northwestern for 15 years. She works as a cashier in the West Side of the Foster-Walker Complex Dining Hall.
VERONICA REYES: We’re here today because it was necessary after negotiating so many months with the company, over nine months. So we get tired. We wait too long to come here because we believe that they were going to do something. But unfortunately, they don’t want to fix things that their benefits and their rights that they’re trying to take away from us, is not acceptable. So we deserve respect. We are hard workers, employees, and we deserve more than what they are giving.
Reyes and many other workers are dissatisfied with their pension, which for many, currently stands at $1.10.
REYES: As you see, many of my coworkers, they are very elderly, and it’s hard to retire with our pension. You know, when I find out how my retirement looks, it’s impossible that I can dream of retirement.
VALENTINA ESPINOSA: Primero que todo, pues la pensión es muy importante.
[TRANSLATOR]: So the pension is primary.
That’s Valentina Espinosa, who has worked at Northwestern for 21 years. She previously worked as a room attendant at the Allen Center before its closure but now works at Northwestern’s Chicago campus as a catering attendant.
ESPINOSA: Pero también me gustaría que nosotros somos trabajadores ahora en Chicago, y no tenemos la protección de una seguridad como la tienen aquí en Evanston. Entonces me gustaría que eso también incluyera para los trabajadores de Chicago.
[TRANSLATOR]: The other thing I hope to win in this contract are job protections similar to what we want in the ordinance for Evanston workers, so that downtown workers can be covered as well.
While the recently passed Workers’ Retention Ordinance covers those at Northwestern in Evanston, the Chicago campus is left out. Therefore the union seeks uniform protections in a contract instead of relying on the separate laws of two different cities.
Workers have picketed in front of the dining halls across campus, with large crowds, drums, horns, and supportive honks from cars passing by along Sheridan Road.
At 12:15 p.m., workers, students, and members of the community gathered in front of Allison Dining Hall. Three workers gave speeches, and undergraduate students and a member of the Northwestern University Graduate Workers spoke as well, all affirming their support. Crowd members attempted to bring a petition to the office of Michael Schill, but were unable to secure entry, so the petition was taped to the door.
Approximately three-and-a-half hours after the strike began, Northwestern released a statement and webpage of updates regarding the matter.
Northwestern wrote, “It is our understanding from Compass that while significant progress has been made in negotiations, the Union did not put forth a vote on Compass’s most recent offer before the strike vote,” and pledged that they were “working with Compass to minimize interruptions to our dining operations.”
In response, new hours were set for Sargent and Allison Dining Halls, the only two still open. Both locations will still offer halal, kosher, vegan, and “pure eats” options. 847 Burger, Chicken and Boba, Wildcat Deli, Starbucks, and Market at Norris remained open as well.
In other words, a workers’ strike also affects students, many of whom woke up to a taped flyer in front of a dining hall door or an email in their inbox from the University.
JULIÁN FEFER: students are really, really mad that two out of the four dining halls are closed. They have no idea when they’re going to come back.
That’s Weinberg senior Julián Fefer, who’s a member of Students Organizing for Labor Rights, also known as SOLR. Fefer says many students are not just frustrated with their current situation, but also the situation of the workers at Northwestern.
FEFER: We see that Compass and Northwestern are mistreating them, are not paying them fair wages, are not giving them the dignified pension they deserve, and are not providing them with necessary job security. Generally, are not treating them as human beings and as members of our community, as the foundation of our community, and I think students are seeing that and coming out in response.
But how should students respond to the strike and balance their need for food with a desire to stand in solidarity with campus workers? Fefer has some guidance.
FEFER: A lot of students on the meal plan are low-income students. We’re not asking them to not have the food that is potentially covered in their financial aid or that they have paid for, and go shop at other expensive Evanston businesses. So we’re not trying to make it a classist kind of thing in that regard.
However, for those who do go to the open dining halls on campus, there will be some changes. In an Instagram post, SOLR said there may be a decrease in options and an increase in frozen food as well as temp workers staffing the halls. This morning, Sargent had plastic cutlery, plastic takeout containers, and paper cups — all reflections of the changes that have begun taking place.
Whether by signing petitions, wearing buttons, emailing professors, or attending pickets, SOLR is calling students to show their solidarity in whatever way they can.
FEFER: Going in there and showing to Compass that, like walking in with a pin, for example, and showing that there is student support, regardless of whether you do out of necessity use a dining hall or not, I think is really the big point.
In a statement to WNUR News, Compass repeated claims that their current offer wasn’t voted on before the strike. Compass said, “While we respect our employees’ right to voice their opinions, we are disappointed by the Union’s decision to strike.”
However, employees aren’t going to quit the fight. Here’s Espinosa again.
ESPINOSA: Yo me siento segura de mis compañeros y de todos nosotros porque estamos haciendo una lucha por algo justo. Creo que ellos tienen que escuchar y lo pueden ver en la calle. Todos estamos afuera.
[TRANSLATOR]: So I feel very confident in myself and my co-workers that because we’re fighting for a just cause, you can see we’re going to stick together. We’re here in the streets to fight for what we deserve.
It’s not the end of the fight for a fair contract, it’s just a new era as Compass and Local 1 enter negotiations during a strike. But for many, it’s a promising new beginning. Here’s Fefer.
FEFER: Today has really, really clearly shown that the community is behind workers. There have been community members, political candidates, students, all kinds of people at all of the pickets pretty much since the morning.
For the foreseeable future, dining workers will be picketing around campus daily from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. According to Northwestern’s page on the Dine on Campus website, the Foster Walker and Elder Dining Halls will remain closed for tomorrow as will Buen Dia, Shake Smart, and MOD Pizza in Norris.
In the meanwhile, Reyes and the other roughly 500 workers will continue fighting.
REYES: Respect is a very big word, and they don’t respect us, so we need respect from them.
For WNUR News, I’m Sophia Casa.
[sound from picket]
