On Oct. 5th, 2009Outside the Hunter College West Building Students, Faculty, Staff and Supporters came together in protest of a new company called AVI which have taken over Hunter College Cafeteria, Coffee Stand, and all Deli stands earlier this year.
It was on September 3rd, 2009 at the height of lunch hour, that the cafeteria workers courageously organized a work stoppage to protest AVI's decision to slash the health benefits and do away with the pension the employees receive under the union contract signed by the previous owner.
While demanding these take-aways, the company stated it will give workers no raise at all this year, followed by 15-cent "raises" in the next two years.
AVI runs non-union operations at Baruch and at Sarah Lawrence College. Since coming to Hunter, it has jacked food and coffee prices up, sometimes by 100% or more.
Like Hunter Students, the cafeteria workers are largely black, latino, women and others subjected not only to this exploitation but to many kinds of discrimination in this capitalist society we live in.
The Hunter Internationalist Club has encourage everyone to work with them and all supporters of workers rights to build active solidarity with the cafeteria workers..
Their cause is our cause too!
Oh that's right Capitalism is bad... Worker solidarity for all! Equal wages, and free handouts for all! And God forbid someone disagrees with that vision, they are labeled racists and ignorant. Your vision will never be realized in this country.
dazednconfused88 2 years ago