A TEACH-IN BY STUDENT WORKER SOLIDARITY WILL BE HELD JANUARY 25 AT 6PM IN HAMILTON HALL #602
Students Worker Solidarity marched to the Faculty House where workers were negotiating.
The workers who prepare catered meals for Columbia events and the dining room at the
Faculty House are demanding that they receive the gratuities which were removed from
their customary end of the year benefits. Columbia now charges a 22% "Service Fee" instead of the Gratuity which was divided between workers in the past. (Sometimes as high as $2000 lump sum at the end of the year.) Instead, Columbia now keeps the funds which many faculty and other users assume (incorrectly!) are going to the workers.
The workers have had little increases in their wages and are forced to be laid off during school holidays (amounting to several months every year). They are not allowed to collect unemployment for their work as schools are exempt.
Workers are expected to pay for and clean their own uniforms, a considerable cost.
