Response to Bassett's memo

President Bassett:



We appreciate your statement in support of workers’ rights, specifically the Labor Code of Conduct, and we expect your statement to be the administration’s first step toward a binding labor policy. This policy must be public, official, and sent to all stakeholders at this University, especially and most importantly food service workers. Your letter not only inadequately addresses right to recall and intimidation, but completely ignores a policy of neutrality and current labor violations on campus.

Neutrality means that the university will notify its employees and the employees of its contractors and subcontractors, in writing, that it respects their rights regarding union representation. Further, the university must convey to all employees involved that there will be no negative consequences for exercising their right to support union representation. Many Sodexo workers say they are afraid that they will lose their jobs if they vote for the union. The fact that your statement was not sent to the workers calls into question whether you truly include them as members of our Clark community. We expect the university to communicate with food service workers about these issues, which most directly affect them.


Like your most recent letter to the student body, Sodexo’s public statements to newspapers about right to recall lack any true commitment to enforcing values you claim to uphold. Right to recall must be a policy, not a supposed set of ideals. Furthermore, such a policy when communicated to workers will allow them to openly make a decision that they feel is best for themselves and their families. Due to repeated discrimination against pro-union workers, right to recall must be based solely on seniority. Workers must be offered the same position, follow the same schedule, and work at the same locations. If right to recall is already policy, as Jim Collins repeatedly stated in our last meeting and as you claim in your most recent letter, there should be no qualms with enforcing the policy publicly and transparently by both Clark administration and Sodexo. Additionally, this is why we have previously demanded immediate and full access to all existing contracts with outside vendors, contractors and subcontractors.



President Bassett, you have repeatedly alleged that there is a culture of respect and professionalism between Clark, Sodexo, and food service workers. However, there is no such culture at Clark. To name just one example, one worker, who is vocally pro-union, had her hours cut and was forced to take on a second job to support her family. Workers are not even permitted to formally submit their thoughts and concerns to management in writing. Simply because our food service workers are subcontracted does not enable Clark to ignore poor wages and working conditions, disrespect in the workplace, unaffordable health-care, or intimidation. Just as our university has shown a commitment to the city of Worcester, it should be a given that we have an even stronger commitment to community members who are employed at our institution.



We would like to address recent concerns regarding a lack of dialogue between Clark Unite and the administration. We first notified administration on January 29th, 2010 about the intimidation of workers on our campus. We participated in multiple meetings as a means to open up a dialogue while stressing the urgency that the issue be addressed before the end of the semester. During this time, labor and wage violations continued. You categorically denied our reports about conditions in the workplace that had come from our communication with workers, and also all of our demands. Your commitment to a Labor Code of Conduct is commendable in that it is necessary. However, this would guarantee labor rights in the long term, and does not address the urgency of current organizing on our campus. The demands we have previously laid out are the bare minimum to ensure a fair labor environment and to maintain job security for all food service workers at Clark University, and are therefore non-negotiable to maintain Clark University's principles, values, and mission.

As stated in our previous letter, Clark Unite! expects Clark University to provide signed documentation and to publicly commit to establishing these demands as university policy no later than 12 PM on Friday, April 9, 2010. A lack of policy and a reliance on Sodexo corporate statements and culture of professionalism ignores that Sodexo has every incentive and ability to dismiss and intimidate pro-union workers. Please contact us via email at ssusman@clarku.edu. We look forward to your response.

Press on last week's Solidarity Festival

"Food Fight" in Worcester Magazine
"Students Rally for Workers" in the Telegram & Gazette

300 Walk Out For Workers Rights: Protest Administration’s Failure to Act

Yesterday, Thursday, April 1st, three hundred students and faculty left class and marched past Clark University administrative offices in support of food service workers. The crowd chanted, "What do we want? Worker rehire! What do we want? Neutrality! When do we want it now? Now!" These chants were a vocalization of the simple demands that Clark Unite!, the organizers of the event, have been requesting the university enact.


Clark Unite! has met with university president, John Bassett, as well as the incoming president, David Angel, on multiple occasions to address concerns about the treatment of Sodexo employees. Sodexo is subcontracted by the university to provide all food on campus. Jeremy Weyl, a student, notes, "These issues were brought to the attention of the administration in January and there has still been no tangible action." Clark Unite! is calling for the administration to support preferential rehire, a policy of neutrality, and to ratify a labor code of conduct. In a letter delivered today, Clark Unite! states that they expect Clark University to provide signed documentation and to publicly commit to establishing these demands as university policy no later than Friday, April 9.


Over half the student body, countless alumni, and 78 faculty members have signed a petition asking Bassett to speak out against corporate intimidation and harassment. Additionally, the Clark University Student Council has endorsed Clark Unite!’s proposals, as well as over 40 other student groups and associations.


Clark Unite! is organizing in solidarity with workers considering the option of unionization under the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 615. Sodexo has been punishing pro-union workers at Clark, cutting hours while hiring new workers, cross-training to make workers expendable, conducting illegal surveillance of union meetings, and using other intimidation methods. Workers are organizing for respect in the workplace, a living wage, and affordable health care benefits.

Hannah Caruso, a student, says, “Bassett’s response falls shockingly and disappointingly short of the commitment the university supposedly has made to the community. Clark University's slogan, "Challenge Convention, Change Our World" has become an empty cliche. Where is the action? Clark must address all of these issues in order to maintain its position as a leader in social responsbility.”


Clark Unite! is a group of Clark students, faculty, staff, and alumni committed to organizing around issues of social and economic justice. They work to promote equal access to dignified employment, worker's rights to organize, and the fair distribution of resources. They support Sodexo food service workers' right to organize for better working conditions without intimidation. Clark Unite! values the workers’ service to the Clark community.

Solidarity Festival 2010

Walk Out and Rally on April 1st, 11:30

Support the rights of our Sodexo workers at Clark University by sticking it to the man-John Bassett himself. Join Clark Unite! on Thursday, April 1st: WALK OUT of your class at 11:30 (if you feel comfortable, bien sur), RALLY at 12:00, and skip for the rest of the day for fun, FOOD, guest speakers, live music (Harry and the Potters, anyone?) and a general awesome time, while still supporting a great cause. Let's all come together and show the administration that challenging convention and changing our world takes ACTION!

Harry And The Potters
http://www.myspace.com/harryandthepotters

The Motel Matches
http://www.myspace.com/themotelmatches

More TBA

Labor Rights Denied: Clark UNITE!'s dialogue with Clark U. Administration

The Clark administration is a key point of leverage for Clark UNITE! - students, alumni, and staff who are organizing in solidarity with food service workers considering the option of unionization under the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 615. The administration answers to students, alumni, and staff who are all stakeholders in this university, as well as dictates the terms of its contract with Sodexo, with whom food services are subcontracted out to. Clark's administration can amend the current contract with Sodexo, threaten Sodexo with contract non-renewal, and demand that labor rights be respected and enforced.

Clark UNITE! has attempted to engage the administration in dialogue about the urgency of labor rights on our Clark campus, only to have those concerns fall on deaf ears. On January 29^th, Clark UNITE! first sent a letter to the administration after hearing about a coercive and deceptive anti-union meeting. That letter is available on our blog.

That anti-union meeting was led by three Sodexo higher-ups from Sodexo corporate. At that meeting two Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs) were committed, that are currently being processed by National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) courts established by the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The first ULP was telling employees that once they signed union petitions they were “signing themselves away.” The second ULP was telling employees that after they negotiated for a union that they would be making less money than before because of union dues. When unionization is negotiated with an employer, employees often negotiate for a pay raise as well. Why would anyone negotiate a contract in which they were making less money? These are two examples of false information that are protected against by law, keep in mind a law that was written in 1935 and does not reflect a shift towards a service economy. That anti-union meeting is part of a larger campaign of intimidating workers, such as reprimanding individuals, supposedly for excessive bathroom breaks, when employees are vocal about being pro-union.

The administration did not respond to Clark UNITE! until February 11^th, two weeks later. After a very public rally in support of worker’s rights on February 28^th, the administration agreed to meet with Clark UNITE! spokespeople to hear our demands. Several UNITE!-ers met with Executive Vice President James Collins, President John Bassett, and Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs David Angel. At that meeting on March 4^th administration was ostensibly receptive to our concerns and made a verbal commitment to labor rights and to a process of adopting a Labor Code of Conduct. Clark UNITE! was promised a prompt response, but after several more weeks without hearing anything, Clark UNITE! became increasingly concerned that labor issues would not be resolved before the end of the semester. Clark UNITE! asked administration for a second meeting by presenting them with our petition of over 1,000 Clark students and alumni, over 40 student groups, and 78 faculty members. That second meeting was to go over some of the language in our proposed Labor Code of Conduct, as the Clark administration requested, and to go over the response the administration was going to take to the pressing issue. At our second meeting on March 24th, again with with Bassett, Angel, and Collins, the administration reneged on their previous commitment to labor rights, reneged on their responsibility to all stakeholders of this university, and reneged on Clark's motto of "Challenge Convention, Change Our World."

Bassett, Angel, and Collins rejected all four of our demands. Those demands, which appeared on our petition, are again:

1) Clark University will immediately enforce a campus-wide policy of neutrality concerning the process of unionization to be followed by all of its subcontractors. This includes the right to recall for current employees, guaranteeing them preferential rehire whenever classes resume.

2) Clark University will tangibly support the process of unionization in the most expedient and fair manner for all university and subcontracted employees that desire union representation.

3) Clark University will enact Clark Unite!'s proposed Labor Code of Conduct for Clark University in a timely manner through the appropriate administrative channels.

4) No resources controlled by Clark University, financial or otherwise, will go towards supporting anti-union activities.

Nearly eight weeks later after being notified of the intimidation of labor at Clark, and leading Clark UNITE! to believe that they would take action, the administration claimed that neutrality would "limit Sodexo's right to free speech." They felt there was no need for preferential rehire because there have not been any problems yet (before the issue of unionization could be a point of discrimination). Administration felt it was more important to foster a culture of "trust" and "respect" with Sodexo management. And committed to only investigating individual cases when they occur, repeatedly saying "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

The only culture being fostered at Clark University is a culture of rampant classism. One worker was told by Sodexo management in front of Clark students, that if that employee wanted a better wage she should "go to college and get a better job." That is an example of why, though employees say wages and benefits are not adequate, that employees seeking unionization say what they want most is respect in the workplace. Clark Administration has expressed the same classism with their disregard for labor rights and denial of workers' agency.

Our demands must be met by the end of the semester. Food service employees are laid-off during months in which classes are not in session. Normally employees are invited back to work when classes resume, however pro-union employees are already having their hours cut while Sodexo is hiring new employees. Losing hours has huge consequences when you are providing for your family. It can be expected based on this behavior that Sodexo may not rehire employees who are practicing their right to organize by being vocally pro-union unless there is policy, and an enforcement thereof, by the Clark administration.

Here is a very real opportunity in which Clark can "change our world" by providing dignified employment. And administration is being antagonistic towards it.