After more than 6 months of negotiations between Georgetown University and Allied International Union, which represents DPS, an agreement has finally been reached. Georgetown’s DPS officers will receive at least a $2.50 raise per hour in the three-year contract. This means that new officers will be paid a starting salary between $17.00 and $22.00 per hour, compared with a starting pay of $15.60 before the agreement.

Contract negotiations had been underway since August. The university, however, repeatedly failed to offer Georgetown DPS officers a fair wage that provided pay parity with public safety officers at other universities in DC. Although the university held firm offering DPS a measly $0.75 raise over the course of their next contract, student-worker solidarity brought that offer to a $2.50 raise.

Students gather in the rain for a rally to support DPS officers in contract negotiations.

In November, GSC presented President DeGioia with an open letter pushing for a fairer wage for DPS. GSC also held a subsequent rally and march, and educated Georgetown community members on the issue in a variety of ways.

Ensuring that Georgetown’s DPS officers are paid a fair wage that is competitive with other DC universities is one of the most important ways to increase the retention rate of qualified DPS officers. Maintaining the officers that know and understand our campus and community is central to Georgetown’s safety.

However, more progress can still be made within DPS concerning opportunities for career advancement, and cutbacks on investigative positions. Hopefully these issues will be raised in the next round of contract negotiations in 2013.

To read more about the deets on this incredible victory: http://usas.org/2009/11/18/details-of-the-historic-victory-by-honduran-factory-workers/

Honduran Workers present their story & demands to the President's Office at Georgetown Solidarity

After a hard-fought struggle, workers and students declared victory last week over the multinational Russell Corporation. United Students Against Sweatshops announced Tuesday that the company would re-open Jerzees de Honduras, the factory Russell closed in 2008 following workers’ efforts to organize. The site will now be called Jerzees Nuevo Día – Jerzees New Day. Russell also agreed to rehire 1,200 workers and officially recognize their union, SITRAJERZEESH.

The victory is truly monumental, coming on the heels of the largest boycott in the history of modern student activism. Georgetown was one of the first schools to sever its contract with Russell back in February, a move that the university made only after public pressure from students and workers (see picture on right). Over the past year, nearly a hundred schools followed suit – refusing to do business with a serial exploiter.

And so the tradition of struggle continues, building more power and momentum each year. In 1999, Georgetown students held a sit-in in the president’s office, forcing the university to affiliate with the Workers’ Rights Consortium. Ten years later, workers and students used that leverage to take on one of the largest apparel companies in the world. It is clear that university administrators and corporate executives can no longer act with impunity. They are accountable to a powerful international network of worker organizers and student activists. Victory over Russell is just further proof that this kind of shared struggle works. It is truly something to celebrate!!

Stay tuned for details on our victory celebration, coming early next semester. For more info on the agreement, click here.

As concerned students of Georgetown, we find the recent, untenable hate crimes to be a symptom of a pervasive, historically rooted, and dangerous climate on campus. These are not isolated incidents, and we call on the responsibility of the University to address these issues with every available avenue. We would like to bring to your attention some of the severe underlying problems that have been undermining the safety of students as well as neglecting the well-being of Department of Public Security Officers.

Especially given the recent crimes, it is evident that campus security forces do not have all the resources and support they need to keep this campus safe. DPS Officers are among the lowest-paid campus police in Washington, D.C. Moreover, DPS is chronically understaffed. SafeRides, escort services, and other safety systems are frequently understaffed and unable to provide sufficient services. These issues hinder the retention of employees and undervalue long-term officers with the experiential knowledge of Georgetown, which is essential to the trust needed between DPS and the community. This “revolving door” leaves the Georgetown community vulnerable to future incident.

Finally, this situation undermines our Catholic Jesuit values of social justice and Cura Personalis. Georgetown claims to address and care for all of the aspects of its students, cultivating and nurturing the heart, spirit, and body as well as the intellect. We must expand this understanding not only to the well-being of all of the person, but to the institution itself: We cannot have a safe, thriving University campus without caring for all of its interdependent members. If one group is neglected and abandoned, the entire community suffers the consequential injury to the common good.

Even in hard economic times, we must not compromise the respect, security and well-being of those charged with keeping us safe.

Therefore, we demand that the DPS Officers receive a raise of $4 over a three year period.

Join GSC this week to collect signatures around campus condemning Aramark’s refusal to meet with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers! If you were lucky enough to be at MEChA de Georgetown’s kick ass Latino Welcome Dinner last night, you heard Gerardo of the CIW speak on the importance of students working as allies.

GSC is participating in the national Week of Action with other groups across the country by doing a petition drive all week, and then presenting many signatures to our Dining Director, Andrew Linquist, on Friday, in addition to integrating popular education skits and artwork. The goal is for local Aramarks to report student activity around this issue to put on the heat for them to sit down with the CIW, as so many other companies have done, and work on raising wages and improve working conditions for the men and women who provide our food.

Download the attached Petition and get your dorm, your work, your classes to fill in the blanks!

Questions? Email us at email hidden; JavaScript is required

Under the terms of the agreement, farmworkers will receive an additional penny per pound of tomatoes they pick – a cost absorbed by Compass. In an unprecedented move, East Coast committed to working with Compass and the CIW to ensure workers get their raise. Click here for a full-length photo report of the historic press conference.

Now the heat is on for companies like Aramark and Sodexo who have yet to come to the table with farmworkers. As the Dine With Dignity campaign continues, students across the country are gearing up for a week of action October 5-9th. Our message is clear: Compass has spoken; Aramark and Sodexo: you’re next!

For details on how to get involved in actions here on campus, email us at email hidden; JavaScript is required. A representative from the CIW will also be speaking at the Latino Welcome Dinner this Friday, October 2nd. Be sure to stop by MEChA’s table in red square for a ticket!

“Colleges and universities spend over $4 billion each year on food. This figure represents a significant portion of the national food system – one that young people can directly influence.”
-The Real Food Challenge

“In the United States… companies such as Sodexo… and Aramark provide meals, catering and vending machines to virtually every federal agency… 90 percent of universities, 40 percent of healthcare facilities, and 30 percent of schools. If you’ve eaten at a public cafeteria, you’ve probably eaten food sourced by one of these companies…”
-”Cafeteria Kickbacks: How food-service providers like Sodexo bilk millions from taxpayers”

“[Aramark's] buying power and vendor relationships maximize choices and minimize procurement costs…”
-Aramark Education: Financial performance & operational excellence”

“Sodexo has significant purchasing power… Our Supplier Code of Conduct sets out Sodexo’s desire to do business with suppliers, contractors and other partners who conduct their business based on responsible, ethical, social and environmental practices.”
-”Corporate citizenship at Sodexo: Our supply chain”

“But the motivations are not just sentimental. For colleges … buying organic, humanely grown, or local food has practical benefits. Although food expenditures can be a small part of the budget, food is a highly visible symbol of a college’s amenities and priorities.”
-”Colleges chew on local food phenomenon”

“Social responsibility in this country’s food industry is inevitable, and though the exploitation of Florida’s farmworkers remains unconscionable today, company by company we are building a path toward justice. The next steps are up to those companies that stand before us in the road ahead…”
- Comments by CIW, Burger King agreement press conference, April 2008

“From our college and university dining halls to the sweltering fields of Florida, multinational food service provider corporations such as Aramark and Sodexo — who hold lucrative contracts with our schools to deliver and serve the food we eat every day — must take responsibility for the dismal conditions in which their tomatoes are harvested. While such multinational corporations may seem like formidable obstacles to a student campaign for human rights in corporate supply chains and greater student participation in university contracting decisions, the Student/Farmworker Alliance is no stranger to taking on corporate giants as an integral partner in the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Campaign for Fair Food — and winning.

As tuition-paying students, as members of the campus community, as the captive consumers of the food service industry and an increasingly corporatized system of higher education, and as young people responsible for constructing a more just society — we deserve a voice in campus food procurement and food service decisions and policies. We demand real change and real responsibility from the food service industry and from our universities. Today, students across the country are asking: What is the food service provider industry waiting for? Another slavery sentencing in the federal courts? 30 more years of stagnant wages for tomato pickers? But we are prepared to do more than just ask; we stand poised to take action…”

-SFA Background on the Dine with Dignity Campaign

But on the brighter side! That means the Georgetown Solidarity Committee is back in full force, and ready to make this year a memorable, meaningful experience beyond the classrooms, the bookstore, and GO Card swipe stations.

Discover the GSC in your first couple weeks (back) at Georgetown! This year promises to be action packed, so we hope you’ll join in the fun. To start your semester off right, be sure and add these great events to your calendar (details follow):

I. Colombian Flower Workers’ Action
II. Living Wage 101 Documentary Screening
III. First Meeting of the Year

I. Colombian Flower Workers’ Action: Wednesday, September 9 @ 9:55-10:15 and 12:55-1:15; ICC galleria

Maybe you’ve heard about the Colombian government’s recent PR stunt here in DC. In an effort to persuade congress to ratify the US/Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Alvaro Uribe and his cronies have placed 40 giant fiberglass hearts around the city featuring a skewed vision of Colombia’s economic progress. One of these hearts is sitting in our very own ICC. Come participate in flyering and street theater to expose the exploitative flower industry and join Colombian workers in resisting another free trade agreement! Actions are scheduled between classes – come late, come to one, come to both! Check out these links for more background info (no prior experience or knowledge necessary – costumes provided!):

* Colombian Flower Workers Reject US/Colombia Free Trade Agreement
* No More Broken Hearts – The Truth Behind the PR Campaign
* Colombian Flower Worker Visits Georgetown in 2008
* Watch/Read News Report About Conditions in the Colombian Flower Industry

II. Living Wage 101 Screening: Thursday, September 10 @ 7:15 pm; ICC 106

Join us for a screening and discussion of Living Wage 101: a 25 minute documentary about Georgetown’s very own Living Wage Campaign. See how workers and students united to improve labor conditions on campus! Highlights include a nine day hunger strike, worker-led rallies, and visits by some of DC’s biggest labor leaders!

III. First Meeting of the Year: Monday, September 14 @ 9:00; White Gravenor 202

Come find out all about who we are and how we roll. Hear about our plans for the year, contribute your ideas, and find out how you can plug in! Hope to see you there

Lots o’ Love,
The Georgetown Solidarity Committee (GSC)

Questions? Comments? Hopes? email:
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The banners referenced issues highlighted by the current Student Farmworker Alliance (SFA) campaign. ‘Dine With Dignity’ targets food service giants like Aramark and Sodexo, who utilize their enormous purchasing power to demand cheap tomatoes from suppliers. As pressure is exerted downward, farmworkers all across the nation feel the squeeze. In Immokalee, Florida – a hub of US tomato production – wages have been stagnant for almost 30 years. Every day, workers labor without benefits or protections from malicious employers. In the most extreme cases, modern day slavery has been the grim reality.

Since Monday, local members of the SFA have been mingling with campus diners. Hundreds of future college students attending summer programs received flyers detailing Aramark’s connection to substandard labor conditions. Many expressed interest in learning more, and were happy to talk about the ‘Dine With Dignity’ campaign. Daily tours were also flyered and barraged with the facts about Aramark’s unjust profiteering.

But this week was not the first time Georgetown Administrators have heard of farmworkers’ plight. In December, a member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) attended the university’s food committee meeting to deliver a letter demanding Aramark take action. For months, students have tried to meet with Andrew Lindquist, Aramarks’s Executive Director of Dining Services on Georgetown’s campus. After initially denying the company’s role in farmworker poverty, Lindquist left numerous emails and phone calls unanswered. Students were also unable to get a meeting after visiting his office.

And so one is left wondering: If Aramark has nothing to hide, why are they so afraid to meet with a bunch of students? Call or email Andrew Lindquist today, and demand that he – and Aramark – begin a conversation.

Phone Number: 202.687.2026
Email: email hidden; JavaScript is required

Sample script:

Hi, my name is _______ and I’m calling from university or organization. I was disappointed to read about your refusal to meet with students at Georgetown concerned about Aramark’s role in farmworker exploitation. As a representative of the company, it should be your priority to address the demands of customers and – most importantly – those working within your supply chain. As demonstrated by the agreement reached with BAMCo earlier this year, Aramark does have the capacity to cooperate with farmworkers to ensure dignity in the fields. Please don’t evade the issue any longer. Meet with students and begin a dialogue today! Thank you.

Click here to take action now: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/nba_sweatshops