Northwestern clubs host roundtable with dining workers

Two Northwestern dining employees shared frustrating experiences with their wages, pension and work environment with students at a Wednesday night discussion hosted by University Christian Ministry and forthcoming club Christians for Social Justice.

The discussion came two days after Evanston City Council passed the Worker’s Retention Ordinance in an 8-0 vote. The ordinance will protect employees in food service, hospitality and janitorial services — including workers at the University who have been contracted through Compass Group since 2018.

“It was possible with the help of all of you,” NU Dining employee Veronica Reyes said at the discussion. “I want to say thank you to Mayor Daniel Biss and all the council members that approved this ordinance. But, it is not done. We have to ask the company to put it in the contract.”

Reyes, who said she has worked for 15 years at Foster-Walker Complex Dining Halls, said her pensions are “terrible.” 

Reyes said some of her coworkers have reached retirement age, but have not been able to retire because their Social Security and wages are not enough. Reyes pointed out that the price of NU tuition is a stark contrast to dining employees’ wages.

“In such a prestigious university, we cannot think of retirement because there’s no cover for the future,” Reyes said.

She also voiced support for a three-strikes-you’re-out system for management, to hold employees accountable for their actions.

Reyes said she wasn’t satisfied with the resolutions for numerous complaints last year between staff at on-campus locations like Starbucks, Norris University Center and Foster-Walker Complex.

“We (had) managers who mistreat employees. They were racist, they played favoritism, there was (a) sexual harassment accusation,” Reyes said. “You know what the management did? They only moved the manager from one unit to another unit.”

SESP junior Joy Kang said she is in the process of founding CSJ to provide a space for Christian students to be oriented toward social justice. 

Kang said she has been involved with hosting events with the help of UCM Rev. Julie Windsor Mitchell.

“It’s really important,” Kang said. “Every student on campus has been at a dining hall, and interacted with dining hall workers, so it’s important to listen to them.”

Like Kang, Mitchell said UCM is interested in lending solidarity to dining workers at NU. 

UCM has been involved in the unions for the past few years, with meetings taking place at UCM headquarters, she said.

“As Christians, we really want to be in solidarity with the most vulnerable people in society and, for us, that includes the dining workers,” Mitchell said.

Weinberg senior Julián Fefer said that to him, workers are the foundation of the campus community. Fefer is a member of Students Organizing for Labor Rights, and helped translate the discussion from Spanish for another dining employee.

Fefer said he expected NU to “treat the people within it with dignity.”

“All of the learning that we get to do as students, all of the research that faculty are able to do are all predicated by the fact that our campus workers are creating clean spaces, feeding us nutritious food — all of these things that Northwestern and Compass doesn’t value,” Fefer said.

The Dining Workers Vote will vote to authorize a strike tomorrow.

A previous version of this article misspelled Joy Kang’s last name. The Daily regrets this error.

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Related Stories:

— Workers’ Retention Ordinance approved after input from NU Dining employees 

— Hundreds of NU dining service workers picket for improved contract with Compass Group 

— NU dining workers demand new contract benefits as negotiations begin