SCALE holds worker rally with local union
On Wednesday, the Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation held a rally with the UNITE HERE Local 11 union to protest the low wages USC workers currently earn. UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing 20,000 workers in Southern California including many employees in USC Hospitality, USC Housing and USC Auxiliary Services.
Campus workers unite · USC workers and students from the Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation rally in front of the United University Church on Wednesday night to protest low wages. – Mariya Dondonyan | Daily Trojan
The average worker at USC earns a yearly wage of $18,800, an amount becoming increasingly more difficult to live on as rent prices around the USC community continue to rise. USC workers making a yearly income of $18,800 are considered to be living below the poverty line.
Lorelei Christie, a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics, and law and a member of SCALE, explained the goal of the rally.
“The workers are fighting for a new contract right now and are asking for better wages, guaranteed hours and a reasonable workload. SCALE is supporting them in this fight for a fair contract,” she said.
Christie also listed the difficulties workers face at USC: struggling to pay bills, living in gang-ridden areas, working an unreasonable and irregular workload and facing the threat of homelessness.
Union members, USC workers and USC students alike gathered at the United University Church to start the rally. The rally began with blessings from Rev. Tom Carey, a Franciscan monk at the Church of the Epiphany who encouraged using the same school spirit in academics and athletics to be used to support workers’ rights.
Carey ended his speech with, “Fight on for human dignity!” Several USC workers, including a Trojan Grounds barista, a cook at Parkside International Residential College dining hall and a steward at Café 84, spoke to the crowd about their experiences working at USC and how the low wages are impairing their quality of life. A professor at the Price School of Public Policy also spoke at the event, joking that she could only voice her support because she is an associate adjunct faculty member and is not tenured.
After the speeches concluded, the protestors exited campus at the Jefferson Boulevard and Hoover Street intersection and marched around the outskirts of USC. According to members in SCALE, they would have liked to march throughout campus; however, DPS denied them permission and forced the organizers to lead the march around campus instead. The protestors marched past the intersection of Figueroa Street and Exposition Boulevard, shouting, “They say go away! We say no way!” and “This is what democracy looks like!”
The Widney Society Gala, which honors million-dollar donors to USC, was hosted at Price School of Public Policy the same time. The march down Exposition Boulevard consequently blocked the entrance to valet parking for a time.
The rally organizers emphasized how many of the workers live near the university and ought to be treated as part of the USC community. One of the USC workers, an employee at Café 84, lives a few miles south of campus and bikes to work, where he parks his bike inside a building since he already had a bike stolen once.
The worker said that his current monthly income is the same as his rent, forcing him to choose between household necessities.
“It’s either buy my daughter some shoes or pay my bills,” he said.
He explained that he was unable to pay the bills for certain months when his wife was unemployed, forcing him to take out loans that he is still struggling to pay off.
The worker hopes to achieve an income level enough for his family to move to a better neighborhood. Moving, however, is becoming more difficult as the rent escalates. He said that rent prices have increased and attributed the increase to the new USC Village currently under construction.
“This construction is boosting the rent everywhere,” he said.
Today is a sad day for me, because some friends of mine from the USC community are loosing their rights and decency. I started my day by going to Parkside restaurant and grabbed a copy of the Daily Trojan. All the football and family weekend related blissful news made ‘SCALE holds worker rally with local union’ seem out of the cord with the times. The article talks about “students and workers marched around campus in protest of low wages”. Some protesting workers work at three dinning halls on campus. As a person with unlimited meal plan, I know how hard they work and I witness how long and mechanical their jobs are. For example, a cashier at each dining hall is responsible for swiping in thousands of students for eight hours straight with many restrictions. Restrictions include but not limit to, can’t wear warm coat, which would cover their USC hospitality shirt; can’t check their phone or listen to music. Cashiers are basically asked to do one thing-swiping student ID- over and over. However, the boring nature of this kind of job didn’t stop them from extending their genuine welcome to student patrons. One of the first English conversation that I learned at first grade was “how are you?” It wasn’t hard for a six year old back then. However, saying “how are you” with earnest hearts for eight hours at a cold day with low wags is extremely hard. Therefore, workers at dinning halls and greater USC community deserve respect. Next time, when you see a janitor or a facility worker, make sure to say thanks and pay respect that they deserve.
On the same day, I was informed that Staff Pro extended their employee 8 hour shift to 12 hour shift. Staff Pro is a company that manages USC on-campus housing finger print station security. Now, Staff Pro employees at USC has to work from 8pm to 8am without overtime pay, because the 12 hour working span is broken into two separate shifts, on four hour shift on the first night from 8pm to midnight day and the other eight hour shift in the next day morning from midnight to 8am. Despite the fact that they are working for 12 hours successively. In addition, working 12 hours straight became the only option that employees have now, instead of the 4 or 8 hours options that they previously had. Although those employees are not directly managed by USC, but they are an integral part of the USC community. No one else provides safety to students like the way Staff Pro employees and DPS do. Working 12 hours is not only cruel for all employees, but also threatening to the quality of their work, which demands to them be high alert at all time. Workers and employees have limited bargaining power in comparison with administrations and corporations. This doesn’t mean that they should not have a say on what they prefer and what they deserve.
I love USC dearly. I am thankful to go here. I am proud of our Heisman trophy winners and Nobel laureates, but I also take pride in Francis, the omelet maker; David, the finger print guy; Connie, the meal plan swiper. Without Heisman trophy winners and Nobel laureates, USC might drop its US News raking. Without janitors, chiefs, and security staff, USC can not function at all. At the rally against the low wages, “Rev Tom Carey, a Franciscan monk at the church of the Epiphany encouraged using the same school spirit in academics and athletics to be used to support workers’ rights”.
USA, the most powerful nation on earth, champions a market driven economy. Many theorists argue that a rise of the minimal wage will result in further unemployment. However, USC community should not just be a cold heart organization that makes decision only based on the number. In addition, Costco has proved that corporation can succeed when paying their employee fair wages, “because it helps build a strong workforce and profitability over the long run through increased productivity, better morale and lower turnover rates.” I have no intent to get into any kind of political or idealogical argument in regards of different economic policy. I simply wish that USC and Staff Pro employee can have a less restricted life, where their children, one day like us, can afford to pursue better opportunities with adequate financial stability from their parents work at USC. As a lifelong and worldwide Trojan, lets focus on our local community, lets remain hopeful, and lets work together.
FIGHT ON!
Excellent. Labor needs to really be reborn in this era. The income inequality is as bad now as it was leading up to labor’s Hay-days. The fact that business is so incredibly opposed to unions is a testament to how successful they are at moving lower-class people into the middle class – since most larger businesses see that extra money as theirs… it shouldn’t be spent bettering people’s lives! IT’S PROFIT!