Supporting our dining hall workers

[Thomas Joyce]

Hello everyone,

I would like to forward this message on to you, members of our organization, so that you may be up to date on the current issue occurring on our campus regarding the food service workers. As you may or may not know, the food service workers have recently organized to form a union to change their workplace conditions where they claim they are disrespected, unappreciated, harassed, and underpaid by management at Chartwells, the food service company commissioned by Northeastern. In light of this and the effort by the workers and a group called Huskies Organizing With Labor (HOWL), Agape has decided to officially support the workers and HOWL by joining a coalition of NU student groups. I encourage you all to stay informed and support in your own way as you feel led.

Grace & Peace,

Thomas Joyce

President, Agape Christian Fellowship

Begin forwarded message:

From HOWL (Huskies Organizing With Labor):

Hey! 

So, there are a lot of ways for individuals to get involved to stand in solidarity with our dining hall workers, which is super exciting!  The administration claims that our workers aren't apart of our community, and therefore claim no responsibility for what's going on.  Because of this, it is so important for students to stand with our workers.

Come to the speak out tonight! 
There will be a worker panel where you can hear from the workers themselves!  The event is in 10 Behrakis from 7-9pm.  Even if you can only come for a little bit, you would really be able to get a sense what this campaign is really all about.  This campaign is not about students, but the workers who are fighting against their oppressors.  Here is the Facebook event page! https://www.facebook.com/events/151493574974055/

Wear your buttons! 
You may have seen the around campus, but if you don't have any yet I will be sure to get a amount for your group.  Please wear them in the dining halls to show the workers and managers. 

Talk to your classes!
It is super important make as many students aware as possible.  The administration and Chartwells will be in serious trouble if the blatantly ignore the voices of students and workers on campus, the real Northeastern community.  If you don't feel like you know enough about the all the details yet, you can totally talk to me and I can get you prepped. 

Sign the petition!
This will be submitted to the administration to show them how all members of the student body, not just student groups, feel about supporting our workers!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dG44a1d5ZzRJeGhXTTVpT0Z4ZXV6Y3c6MQ

Catch up on your reading!

Huskies Organizing With Labor (HOWL) Coalition Statement:
After months of organizing and gaining widespread support, the undersigned student groups came together to form Huskies Organizing With Labor (HOWL), in order to support Chartwells workers in their struggle to organize a union.  

We believe that all workers, subcontracted and directly hired, are part of the Northeastern University community.
We believe that all members of the Northeastern community should be treated with respect and dignity.
We believe that Northeastern University should provide fair, secure jobs with a living wage.
We believe that all workers should be able to speak out against injustices in the workplace without fear of reprisal.
We demand that Northeastern University respect workers’ legal rights to organize a union.  
We demand that Northeastern University never intimidate nor suppress union organizing, or allow subcontractors to intimidate or suppress union organizing.

We, the undersigned groups of HOWL, share these common values and as students of Northeastern University stand in solidarity with the workers on our campus.

The email from Steve Vallas, a member of the sociology department!
Dear Students: Our university often emphasizes the importance of ethical challenges in today's fast-paced world. Put simply, we all need to think about the human consequences that flow from economic decisions (for example), especially when they are made by elites. So here is a natural laboratory for ethical decision making right here in our own midst. As you may know, Northeastern University has been publicly criticized for maintaining a poor quality of employment for the dining hall workers it employs. Now, there is an important mistake in the last sentence: Northeastern does not actually employ the dining hall workers: It has outsourced this function to the subsidiary of a powerful multinational corporation, which hires, fires, disciplines, and employs the workers who feed students every day. Is our university accountable for the human consequences of its subcontractors? Can students prod the university to improve the lives of the working families who make our university possible? Can public mobilization make a difference, and reshape the institutions we see around us? I personally think that the answer to these questions is a resounding yes. But let's see. I invite you to become involved with the effort to lend support to the organizing effort of the Northeastern dining hall workers. This Thursday, there will be a worker/student speak out at 7 pm. The room is yet to be announced, but if you search on Facebook for HOWL (Huskies Organizing With Labor), you'll find all the information you need. The event will feature workers explaining the issues they face, and faculty lending support to the workers. As the saying goes, this is what democracy looks like. Steve Vallas

Steven Peter Vallas, PhD Department of Sociology and Anthropology
360 Huntington Ave —505 Holmes Hall
Northeastern University Boston, MA 02115617 373 2686

The Huntington News Articles

Published last Thursday:
http://huntnewsnu.com/2012/03/nu-cafeteria-workers-claim-mistreatment/

Published today:
http://huntnewsnu.com/2012/03/editorial-chartwells-dining-hall-workers-deserve-due-respect/

Stories about workers across the nation doing the same thing our workers are doing.

http://www.unitehere.org/detail.php?ID=3541
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/22/cornel-west-miami-chartwells-workers-union_n_1295340.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#s717927