“We Fought. We Won.”
Inside the Campus Inn worker’s strike
This spring, the Campus Inn workers went on strike, bringing a sustained labor movement to Whittier College that rallied the campus around the worker’s efforts to secure a better contract with Bon Appétit Management, the catering company who provides meal services to the college.
The workers struck for a livable wage of $25 per hour, plus $.90 per hour of overtime pay, and $1 in pension contributions for every hour worked by employees. Bon Appétit is a Whittier College vendor and the cafeteria workers are employed by the company, not the college.
Nonetheless, the strike had widespread support across the campus. The first day of the strike was marked by the banging of drums and pots, creating a chaotic harmony for powerful shouts and cries from the protesters. Picketers brandished signs, colorful and bold, with messages such as “Justice” and “We are here!”
Chants are led in a familiar call-and-response by two drill captains with megaphones, often by a striking worker or union member and a student supporter.
“What does democracy look like?”
“This is what democracy looks like!”
Students and faculty joined the picket lines through the strike while other supporters chalked messages of peaceful protest on the cement walkways to and from the Campus Inn (CI). Still more handed out free food to hungry students who chose to honor the strike. Strategically positioned at every entrance and staircase were students exercising free speech and doing their best to dissuade potential diners from crossing the picket line.
The Cafeteria workers employed by Bon Appétit, went on strike March 27, but tensions over the workers’ contracts have been mounting since the the start of the academic year back September when attempts by cafeteria workers to renegotiate their contracts started. This was a year after CI workers were able to renegotiate their contract in the fall of 2022 for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing downsizing of staff. A temporary agreement was reached then that called the contract to be renegotiated in six months.
After a series of meetings, though, cafeteria workers and Bon Appétit representatives were unable to come up with a new contract. When talks stalled going into this school year, Whittier Student Worker Alliance offered its support. Josh Villa, Vice President of the club, as well as dozens of other club members, voiced their support for CI staff to fight for livable wages. Workers vote in February of 2023 to go on strike if a new contracted agreement could not be reached.
As the strike seemed imminent, Unite Here! Local 11, the labor union representing the CI workers joined in the effort. The union represents over 300,000 employees in the hospitality industry, a reminder that workers do not stand alone. The first line of on the union’s website states: “One job should be enough.” That’s what the CI workers then threatening a strike believed, too. It’s a sentiment that has gained traction across the country, especially among a new generation of young people activated during the pandemic who saw service workers deemed essential but treated like they were dispensable.
As the strike moved into its third week, protesters continued to picket outside the CI day after day, but Whittier’s administration remained largely silent on the issue aside from a statement at the beginning of the strike declaring that its hands were largely tied. Vice President of the Student Worker Alliance, Villa, thought the college could have been more vocal in its support for the workers.
“[Linda] Oubre and the College are trying to stay neutral on a moving train,” said Josh Villa. “Faculty has chosen their side but what about administration?”
With Whittier College’s administration staying on the sidelines of the issue, at least publicly, students scheduled a walkout on April 4th. A line of supporters marched across campus and gathered at the corner of Philadelphia Street and Painter Avenue outside of Mendenhall Hall.
After a month of daily marching, chanting, and peaceful protesting, it became clear that workers were struggling. Before the strike, many workers needed second and third jobs to support themselves and family financially. Now with little to no money coming through, times were getting even harder. Daisy Estrada, a popular CI worker, provided some perspective.
“After working for 17 years at Whittier College, I only make $17 an hour. I had to move my belongings into a storage unit because I could not afford rent at my own place.”
Estrada is not the only Bon Appétit employee who is experiencing financial strain. Many CI workers have given the college a decade’s worth of their time and now must receive groceries from Goodwill to stay afloat.
As the strike continued, and students, faculty and some staff dined at food trucks provided by the college, daily protests were often visited by other local college students, members of the community, and even workers employed by Bon Appétit from other college campuses such as Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Scripps College, Pitzer College, and the University of La Verne. Josh Villa has been a student at Whittier College predating the COVID-19 pandemic. He has seen the campus functioning at its best and worst. Working with the union and CI workers, he had manned picket lines that regularly last 12 hours. Villa believes that Whittier College’s “strong sense of community” helped empower CI employees to keep persisting with the strike.
“You won’t get anything in life without fighting for it.”
These are the words of a reinstated CI worker fresh off a victorious effort to better their life. After almost 30 days of protest, the fight was over. As of now, the Campus Inn’s employees are back to work eight hours a day, five days a week. Bon Appétit agreed to $6/hour pay raise, $.90 overtime per hour, and a pension coming in October. Our cafeteria workers won their fight for livable wages.
Cafeteria workers at Nearby University of La Verne, who are employed by Bon Appétit, walked out on April 18 following three weeks of striking at Whittier College. Workers at both schools returned to their jobs on Tuesday with an agreement mostly in place, though questions about pensions are still to be settled.
“Reaching a settlement before the end of the academic year is a big victory for (workers),” Aidan Moore, president of the Whittier Student Worker Alliance Club, told the Southern California News Group.
According to a recent report in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Moore credits Whittier College’s never-flagging strike with emboldening La Verne’s workers. “La Verne’s quick victory also shows the power of solidarity,” Moore said. “When Whittier workers went on strike, they were on their own. Their struggle attracted the attention of other labor organizations, elected officials, community members, and the union was able to bring these allies in when La Verne voted to strike.”
As news of the agreement spread across the campus, workers and students posed for a victorious photo outisde the CI. Front and center, wearing a black shirt, floral pants, and black hat is Daisy Estrada, a dedicated CI now earning enough to financially support herself. Near the top left of the photo is Josh, suited in a safety vest and fist held high. It was thanks to community members like him and worker’s perseverance that an agreement appears to have been reached.
The issue may be resolved here, but in Los Angeles County and across 34 states, workers are asking Bon Appétit for a livable wage. Whittier College and the University of La Verne show what is possible if you put time, effort, and passion into fighting for what you believe in. With other schools such as Pomona Pitzer College and USC contracting with Bon Appétit for their dining services, and fed-up employees all over the country, other strikes loom on the horizon.
As workers returned to the CI, outside the dining hall hung a sign that read: “We fought. We won. 27 days.”
