When NU Dining employee Veronica Reyes bought a house in Evanston’s 2nd Ward in 2010, she didn’t anticipate living in constant fear of losing her job should the University change its contractor.
Now, she won’t have to.
On Monday, City Council passed the Workers’ Retention Ordinance, which will protect the jobs of food service, hospitality and janitorial employees. The council voted 8-0 in favor of the ordinance, with Ald. Juan Geracaris (9th) abstaining.
Both Reyes and her son work at NU, which she said builds a sense of community among employees — which was threatened by looming job insecurity.
“My coworkers, we have younger and older, and some of them have been working since 1980,” Reyes said. “It’s very hard when they have the risk to get fired.”
The ordinance states that if an institution changes contractors, the new contractor must retain employees for a 90-day transition period and offer continued employment if their performance is satisfactory during that time.
Ahead of voting, dozens of NU employees came to the council meeting and stood in unison at the end of Reyes’ remarks.
Ald. Bobby Burns (5th) congratulated the crowd of workers, saying that the council has supported the ordinance from the beginning.
“This was not controversial at all,” he said. “Both publicly and behind the scenes, there was never any question that this was going to have the support it needed to pass, and I believe that’s also a win.”
He recognized the importance of the ordinance to ensure workers continue receiving benefits during the summer when most students are not on campus.
Ald. Clare Kelly (1st) also expressed her continued support for the ordinance.
“I’m really delighted that our City Council can play a significant role in enhancing the job security for these workers,” she said. “It makes me very proud to stand in solidarity with you all.”
When residents had the opportunity for public comment, numerous NU students expressed support for the ordinance and accused the University of not upholding its own values.
Weinberg junior Ruth Debono advocated for financial security to be given to NU Dining workers, saying the last contracting shift in 2018 put dozens of workers in “financial limbo.”
“I’m lucky to have institutional support when I have financial uncertainty,” Debono said. “We should extend that same support to employees.”
When the University changed contractors to the current food service provider Compass Group in 2018, employees in the hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 1 feared losing their jobs and campaigned for months to remain employed.
Reyes has fought for the rules outlined by the ordinance since then, saying the ordinance establishes employees’ place within the University.
And the students’ solidarity impressed her.
“I always love all students and how they support us,” Reyes said. “(They) are my family.”
Shun Graves contributed reporting.
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified Ruth Debono’s year at Northwestern. The Daily regrets the error.
Email: claramartinez2028@u.northwestern.edu
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