Crowds of NU’s dining workers rallied at The Arch Tuesday to demand new contract benefits as the union begins negotiations with Compass Group, the University’s food service provider.
Huddled under umbrellas, dining workers joined by members from the Students Organizing for Labor Rights held signs reading “Students Support Workers” and “Justice for workers at the Allen Center.” Together, they rattled off a list of demands for the upcoming contract, such as a wage increase, retirement funds and pensions.
Negotiations between Compass Group and UNITE HERE Local 1, the union representing NU’s subcontracted service workers, have been ongoing since the workers’ previous three-year contract expired at the end of August.
The former agreement, reached after nearly two years of negotiations, included an almost $6 increase in the minimum hourly wage to $19.88 and a permanent extension of health insurance benefits for all workers. Those changes will continue taking effect until a new contract is achieved.
Ald. Clare Kelly (1st) also arrived at the event later in the afternoon expressing her solidarity with NU dining workers.
“I’ve lived in Evanston for over 26 years, I own a house in Evanston, I raise my kids in Evanston,” said Veronica Reyes, a cashier at Foster-Walker Complex. “And if Northwestern decides to hire a new company for food service, there is no guarantee that we can keep our job.”
Top of concern in the negotiations is providing job security for the 103 workers currently employed at the Kellogg School of Management’s James Allen Center, which hosts the Executive MBA and Executive Education programs.
While the center is slated to shut down for reconstruction Nov. 28, Compass has only proposed extending employees’ recall rights — without guaranteeing continued employment to all of the workers — according to a representative from UNITE HERE Local 1.
Compass spokesperson Sophia Bamiatzis told The Daily that the company so far has “placed 51 Allen Center employees in other positions” at NU and are “committed to offering any future available positions to our 26 potentially displaced associates in accordance with the current CBA.”
Elizabeth Arreguin, who’s worked as a housekeeper at the center for nearly 24 years, said she had first begun hearing plans about the center reconstruction since the pandemic. The announcement this year “devastated” her.
She’s the only one working in her family right now, since her husband can’t help out anymore because of heart problems.
“Housekeeping is a strong job, and I feel pain everywhere,” Arreguin said. “I feel pain everywhere in my back, in my hands. That’s why I’m strong to fight for my benefits, insurance and everything.”
Union organizers also provided updates to their most recent round of negotiations, which also occurred on Tuesday. They announced that Compass has only offered them an 80-cent increase in their wages — which is far from what many workers have asked for.
Valentina Espinoza, who’s also worked at the Allen Center for more than two decades, said her job is “physical” and each day is “difficult to get by.” All she wishes is that the workers, many of whom have worked for decades at the center, continue to work at NU.
“I was devastated because I knew what was going to happen,” Espinoza said. “Many will have to go to different locations. I think the University can support us — they have to give us the opportunity to work here.”
Email: [email protected]
X: @Jerrwu
Related Stories:
— SOLR-led walkout at Sargent Hall demands better conditions, adequate pay for Compass workers
— SOLR teach-in emphasizes learning from, building relationships with campus workers
