Miami Herald writes up the unionization of Chartwells workers at UM

This piece, by Margaux Herrera, appeared in the Miami Herald on May 10th

Cafeteria workers at the University of Miami unionized after a majority of workers voted in favor of representation in a card check on May 3. 

The employees voted to join 32BJ, a branch of the Service Employees International Union. The bargaining unit will include 321 workers. 

“It’s a huge step forward,” said Erik Brakken, the South Florida representative for SEIU. “We’re very hopeful.” 

During a card check, employees sign forms affirming their support for unionization, and the signatures are counted by a third-party arbitrator. 

The workers are employed by UM’s food-service contractor. 

In a statement, Chartwells said it has recognized SEIU as the employees’ representative.  

“Chartwells will meet and negotiate in good faith with the union. Chartwells has a long history of working productively with unions across the country and will do so in this instance as well,” the statement said. 

SEIU previously organized UM’s janitorial workers. 

Brakken said the union will begin negotiations with Chartwells this summer. The employees hope for better wages and benefits. Currently, some employees make less than $10,000 per year, cannot afford any benefits and have to supplement their income with government assistance, according to SEIU. The employees and advocacy groups have been fighting since last year for better pay and unionization. 

Chartwells employees were relieved that they would be getting a voice. “As long as we can get a good contract and a good bargain, ... I feel great about it,” worker Betty Asbury said. 

Asbury said that she has felt like she was treated with disrespect from management, and hopes that that will change with the contract negotiations. 

“We are human beings who need respect,” she said. “The way they treat you on the job, it was uncalled for. I was working in fear.” 

Asbury is the same “Miss Betty” whose firing last October was a catalyst for the last seven months of protests and push for a change. Asbury was reinstated a week after she lost her job when a man walked past her at one of the UM dining halls without paying.
But Asbury says she does not want to discuss that anymore. 

“I really don’t want to look back,” she said. “I want to look forward to a better work environment, … bigger and better things.” 

Before the card count, Chartwells requested an election from the National Labor Relations Board, but their request was denied by the board April 24. 

The NLRB’s decision was unusual, said Michael LeRoy, who teaches labor law at the University of Illinois. While it is common for employers to request an election, it is uncommon for the board to reject the proposal. 

“The NLRB is committed to elections. That’s a major function of the board,” LeRoy said. 

He said that if the board believes the employer might pressure the employees to vote a certain way, it might deny the election request. 

"If the regional director is not permitting an election, one possibility is that there is a sense that the employer has committed too many unfair labor practices to hold a fair election,” LeRoy said. 

Chartwells declined to comment on why the NLRB might have denied an election.

Court strikes down NLRB rule that would require private employers to notify workers of their legal rights to unionize

This piece from the NYT shows how much the system is stacked against workers trying to unionize.

Court Bars Notice to Workers on Right to UnionizeBy STEVEN GREENHOUSEPublished: May 7, 2013

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A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a National Labor Relations Board rule requiring most private sector employers to post a notice informing employees of their right to unionize. 

Ever since the labor board proposed the rule in December 2010, business groups have asserted that the move exceeded the board’s authority and was an improper imposition on nearly six million employers, most of them small businesses. 

In its decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concluded that the N.L.R.B.’s rule violated a federal law that bars the board from punishing an employer for expressing its views so long as those statements do not constitute threats of retaliation or force. 

The labor board had originally said that an employer’s failure to post the notice would be considered an unfair labor practice, resulting in penalties, but the circuit court said the board would be acting illegally to punish an employer for expressing a statement or in this case, for failing to post a statement under orders by the labor board. 

The labor board’s rule told employers to post a notice, informing workers of their right to form or join a union, to strike, to bargain collectively and to act together to improve working conditions. 

The federal circuit court issued an injunction in April 2012, suspending the labor board’s rule, after two lower courts differed on whether the board had overstepped its powers. 

The circuit court cited several Supreme Court rulings to reach its decision that employers have a right to disseminate views as well as a right not to disseminate views. The court relied on First Amendment rulings that prohibit the government from telling people what they must say, like telling schoolchildren they must recite the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Many businesses asserted that the labor board’s proposed poster was one-sided and pro-union, although the board said the poster was neutral. 

The National Association of Manufacturers applauded the court’s ruling, calling it “an important victory in the fight against an activist N.L.R.B. and its aggressive agenda.”
“The poster rule is a prime example of a government agency that seeks to fundamentally change the way employers and employees communicate,” the manufacturers’ association said. “The ultimate result of the N.L.R.B.’s intrusion would be to create hostile work environments where none exist.” 

The A.F.L.-C.I.O. attacked the ruling. “The Republican judges of the D.C. Circuit continue to wreak havoc on workers’ rights,” its president, Richard L. Trumka, said. The labor federation, like the Obama administration, was already upset with the circuit court for ruling in January that President Obama’s recess appointments to the labor board were illegal and that the board thus did not have a quorum needed to operate. The Obama administration has appealed that decision to the Supreme Court. 

Mr. Trumka questioned the sweep of Tuesday’s ruling, saying: “In today’s workplace, employers are required to display posters explaining wage and hour rights, health and safety and discrimination laws, even emergency escape routes. The circuit court’s ruling suggests that courts should strike down hundreds of notice requirements, not only those that inform workers about their rights and warn them of hazards, but also those on cigarette packages, in home mortgages and many other areas.” 

In holding that the labor board could not punish employers for failing to post the notice, the court decided to vacate the rule altogether, saying that the labor board would not have wanted to propose a merely voluntary rule that it could not enforce. 

In a statement, the labor board said it was reviewing Tuesday’s ruling and would “make a decision on further proceedings at the appropriate time.” It noted that the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals was also reviewing the legality of the poster rule.

Grassroots support for documentary...

... about a hotel housekeeper who became an elected government official. Margo Guernsey, former union organizer and now University of Miami MFA film-maker, is making a film about Councilwoman Castillo, following her through her re-election campaign in 2014, and thinking about how to broaden our democracy. You can support this project on Kickstarter. (You pledge a donation, but no money is taken unless the goal of $20,000 is reached by May 31st.)

Press release from SEIU concerning victory of Chartwells workers at UM

This is a press release from the SEIU, celebrating the victory achieved by the Chartwells food service workers at University of Miami in their struggle to unionize:

“This opportunity to negotiate for better pay, meaningful benefits and for respect and a voice in the workplace was the reason why we fought to organize a union,” said Nicole Berry.  

MIAMI, FL—A majority of food service workers at the University of Miami have voted to join 32BJ SEIU and authorize the union to represent them when they begin negotiating a first contract with Chartwells Dining Services, UM’s food service contractor. 

Nicole Berry, 34, who has worked at UM for over four years, said she was happy.
“This opportunity to negotiate for better pay, meaningful benefits and for respect and a voice in the workplace was the reason why we fought to organize a union,” she said. 

Arbitrator Robert Hoffman certified the card check result bringing the 321 workers at cafeterias and dining halls around the university into the union early Friday evening.
32BJ SEIU Organizing Director Rob Hill hailed the workers’ struggle and congratulated on a hard-fought victory. 

“This is truly a great victory for the UM workers, new members of 32BJ who are set to bargain their first contract,” Hill said. “By organizing a union, they chose to bargain poverty jobs into good jobs.” 

The workers, mostly African Americans who make as little as $9.31 an hour or about $10,000 a year, wanted a simple, fair process to begin bargaining for the opportunity to earn a living wage, more meaningful benefits, and dignity and respect in the workplace. Workers often have to rely on public subsidies for food, health care, housing and cash support in order to live on what they make working at the University of Miami. 

Last week, they won that right when Chartwells agreed to a card check process to certify that they wanted 32BJ SEIU as their union. After a long contentious campaign to win their union, The workers were supported by prominent community leaders and clergy who joined with students and faculty to demand that University president Donna Shalala stop the contractor’s attempts to stop the union drive. 

“Victory!” said an overjoyed Giovanna Pompele, a UM professor who helped collect over 300 faculty signatures on a petition to Shalala, asking her to intervene on behalf of the workers. “We know now our food workers will have the opportunity to bargain for better pay and have a shot at decent working conditions.”

Our Chartwells workers have a union!!!

It's official. The card count is concluded and the Chartwells employees are now unionized with the SEIU! Congratulations to all those who worked so hard to see this moment come: the workers, first and foremost, the organizers, the students, the clergy, the faculty. They did it! We all did it! Our campus is a little more just!

In black and white

Monkeys (or other animals) won't work for unequal pay

Do we need to comment? Today is the last day before the card count. If you are reading this and are at UM, head over to the food court and say a nice word of support to a Chartwells employee. Management is hitting hard on them. They can use your solidarity.

In His service: a letter to President Shalala from South Florida clergy

Here is a letter delivered today, May 1st 2013, to the University of Miami's President, Donna Shalala, from a large group of South Florida clergy and faith leaders.

Dear Donna Shalala:

We, members of a diverse group of religious congregations committed to promoting social justice in our communities in Miami-Dade, are again calling on you and the University of Miami Board of Trustees to stop the oppressive practices of your food service vendor, Chartwells Dinning Services – a unit of Compass Group USA – against the University of Miami cafeteria workers. It has come to our attention that Chartwells, since agreeing last week to card check for workers for the purpose of choosing 32BJ SEIU as their bargaining unit, has engaged in unprecedented and aggressive anti-union campaign- including captive audience meetings - to deceive and dissuade workers from making this fundamental and federally - protected choice. We want you to know that if Chartwells succeeds in this effort, we will hold the University of Miami responsible for allowing this to happen.

The Chartwells workers are mostly African-American and they make as little as $9.31 per hour, or about $10,000 a year. They often have to rely on public subsidies for food, health care, housing and cash support in order to live on what they make working at the University of Miami. In fact, Dr. Shalala, these African-American workers are some of the lowest paid workers at the University of Miami.

Dr. Shalala, please know that we will not accept any explanation that tries so slough off Chartwells’ conduct in this matter as the actions of a private entity. The way we receive the contractor’s auctions is that it is acting as agent and proxy of the University of Miami in an aggressive action against the interests of members of our Miami Dade communities. If it should come to pass that Chartwells succeeds in this deception, then, from every pulpit, every street corner and every engine of communication available to us, we will let the world know what the University of Miami and its leaders have done here not just to our African American brothers and sister, but to our communities.

As we told you in our previous letter, we believe good jobs create strong communities. In Miami-Dade, what we need are good jobs that pay living wages with benefits, where workers have dignity and a voice in the workplace. As the city’s largest employer and its most vibrant economic engine, the University of Miami set the standards that other private employers follow. The University of Miami food service jobs, as presently constituted, are not good jobs. In fact, these jobs deepen the poverty and raise the misery quotient in our Miami-Dade Communities.

Telling the University of Miami cafeteria workers to be satisfied with poverty wages is not the best way for you to be a part of our communities. We are watching and we will not stand by.

In His Service,

South Florida Clergy

(signed names listed) 

This picture was taken when a group of clergy came to UM to deliver a letter to President Shalala on April 2, 2013. The President did not receive them at the time. 

The Pope speaks out against "slave labor"

Responding to the conditions of sweatshop workers in Bangladesh, following the horrific collapse of the building where many Bangladeshis were working, Pope Francis had these words:

A headline that really struck me on the day of the tragedy in Bangladesh was 'Living on 38 euros a month'. That is what the people who died were being paid. This is called slave labour. Today in the world this slavery is being committed against something beautiful that God has given us -- the capacity to create, to work, to have dignity. How many brothers and sisters find themselves in this situation! Not paying fairly, not giving a job because you are only looking at balance sheets, only looking at how to make a profit. That goes against God!

Chartwells, UM, and exploiters of the poor everywhere, take note!

Compass, parent company of Chartwells, knows how to do card check properly

Compass, the parent company of Chartwells, does know how to do card check properly, as you can read in the leaflet below. Why don't they behave in the same responsible and fair way at the University of Miami? And why isn't the University of Miami insisting on this kind of fairness? UM is lending its facilities in the University Center, and its campus police force, to help Chartwells intimidate its employees in captive audience meetings; at the same time, UM is allowing its police to warn faculty from trespassing when they are in the corridors of the University Center to support the workers and try to monitor these captive audience meetings.

Compass, the parent company of Chartwells: modern-day Jim Crow segregation

Here is the text of the United Students Against Sweatshops petition to Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami, which you can SIGN HERE. It details shocking racism, practiced and tolerated by the company.

At the University of Miami, campus workers are facing fierce intimidation for exercising their right to join a union. Just days after agreeing to respect workers’ right to choose a union through a majority signup process, Chartwells, a food service corporation owned by Compass Group, launched a vicious anti-union campaign, holding mandatory captive audience meetings every few hours and telling workers that they “just want them to know the whole story.” 

But what really is the whole story behind Compass Group? Just ask Compass employees at the Comcast Center in Philadelphia where, in a demonstration of modern-day Jim Crow segregation, Compass only allowed its white employees to serve guests during private catering functions, forcing employees of color to work in the kitchen. White supervisors would take prolonged lunches while sitting at the only table designated for the Company’s employees. Since the Company also prohibited the African-American employees from leaving the premises during lunch breaks, they were forced to eat lunch in the Company’s locker room. 

Use the form on the left to send President Donna Shalala a message: Chartwells workers deserve the right to join a union without fear and intimidation. 

Despite workers’ repeated complaints about racial discrimination at the Comcast Center, Compass failed to take any remedial action. In fact, many workers have been demoted, stripped of their job duties, unfairly disciplined, and fired for speaking up. At the University of Miami, a majority of the workers are people of color, and they’re well aware of Chartwells’ history. Would you trust a company with this track record to give U Miami workers accurate information about their right to join a union? 

Chartwells officials have told U Miami workers that the “union doesn’t believe in democracy,” and to “call the police” if a union organizer comes to the door. But if Chartwells really believed in democracy, why would they force U Miami employees to attend anti-union captive audience meetings as a condition of employment? 

A company like Compass cannot be trusted to give workers a fair process. Tell U Miami President Donna Shalala to step in and demand that Chartwells immediately put an end to all captive audience meetings with workers.

Sign petition