Markeshia Ricks Photo
Union members and allies cheer during Thursday’s rally.
UNITE HERE members rallied on Yale University’s Cross campus Thursday as part of a national day of action to support union jobs particularly in the service industry.
John.
Marching from First & Summerfield Church chanting, “We are the union, the mighty, mighty union,” the members gathered for a lunchtime rally to show support for people like Ornella John. Thursday’s rally was part of a national day of action orchestrated by UNITE HERE members in 40 cities across the country.
John’s mother, who died just last year, worked at the Omni for 18 years. She said the wages and benefits that her mother earned thanks to the Local 217 contract allowed her mother to give her and her siblings a great life. John, who is an immigrant from Trinidad, followed in her mother’s footsteps and has been with the Omni for 10 years as a server. She’s a single mom and she said has been able to provide for her child because she has a good union job.
Marks (at right) leads the chants Thursday.
“In 2018, our contract is up,” she said. “And we cannot allow anything to slip away. It why our sisters and brothers across the country are standing up — to fight for our future. We all deserve decent wages and benefits.”
“We” includes Yale graduate student teachers, too, said Lena Eckert-Erdheim, a doctoral candidate in history and member of Local 33 UNITE HERE. (Read here about Local 33’s ongoing struggle with Yale.) UNITE HERE also has locals representing blue-collar workers and office workers at Yale.
“I voted for my union,” Eckert-Erdheim said. “Right now at campuses across the country, teachers are negotiating contracts but not here at Yale because Yale is refusing to negotiate with us.”
That drew boos and hisses from the crowd.
“Today, we’re here and we’re joining tens of thousands of UNITE HERE members in 40 cities across North America,” she continued. “We’re all fighting for our employers to treat us with respect.”
Eckert-Erdheim said the concerns of the Yale graduate student teachers and hotel workers aren’t dissimilar. Graduate students want fair wages, affordable health care, and protections against sexual harassment just like hotel workers.
“Our struggles are connected,” she said. ” And now all of us have employers who are looking to the Trump administration and seeing a green light to come after working people.
“We’re not going to let that happen because we know that when we stand together and we fight together that we will win,” she added. “And we will win good jobs. We will get our employers to the negotiating table. We will contracts that make our employers treat us with respect. Let’s keep fighting to win.”
Rev. Scott Marks of the UNITE HERE-affiliated New Haven Rising group led the afternoon’s chants. He reminded the crowd that some of the members had to get back to work so he started off a different chant, “We’ll be back! We’ll be back!” And with that folks filed out as orderly as they had come in headed back to work.
Graduate students already have free health care, protections against sexual harassment, and $30-$40K/year for a temporary, part-time, trainee job.