Last week, following a months-long effort led by the 5C Student and Worker Alliance (CSWA), Pitzer College formally agreed to rehire Adan Campos for the next available entry-level position.
On Feb. 26, CSWA posted an orange background with the words “Rehire Adan update: WE WON” on their Instagram.
Campos worked at McConnell Bistro, Pitzer’s dining hall, for nine years. He was fired by Bon Appétit, the college’s dining management agency, while his DACA work authorization was being renewed.
According to Claremont Undercurrents, Campos’ status expired in December 2023, and the renewal process took longer than anticipated; Bon Appétit fired Campos in February 2024, just one month before his process would be complete.
Since then, CSWA has fought to have Pitzer reverse his termination.
The group’s efforts began in the summer of 2024 when over 70 Pitzer workers signed a petition asking that Campos be offered a fair chance to be rehired. With the support of some CSWA students still in the area, the employees delegated the petition to Pitzer Human Resources.
CSWA member Kai Chen PO ’26, present at this delegation, said their attendance sparked controversy with Pitzer Human Resources.
“Me and my friend, we’re just standing there, we’re not saying anything — that’s not our job during this delegation specifically — but Pitzer HR notices us and they’re like, ‘We love your support but students can’t represent the union. [The] union needs to represent the workers,’” Chen said.
Having their presence acknowledged last summer was a “turning point” for Chen and their future in CSWA’s fight. They said that one peer pointed out that student presence was meaningful, given that HR attempted to discourage it.
Conveying a similar sentiment, Pitzer Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer Laura Schaefer wrote in a recent statement to TSL: “While we understand the desire for members of the community to become involved in these situations, the dining and service employees at Pitzer College are represented by UNITE HERE.”
Students might not be directly associated with UNITE HERE, the union representing Pitzer dining workers, but they did receive news about Campos’ situation last month. One year after his termination and five delegations later, on Feb. 12, Campos called CSWA to tell them that Pitzer had offered him an agreement. The move came days after CSWA disrupted a Board of Trustees meeting to demand Campos’ rehiring.
“Pitzer has been and will continue to be supportive of our unionized workers’ rights,” Schaefer wrote in the same statement to TSL.
Jack Weidner PO ’25, a CSWA steerer — a term the organization uses for its co-leaders — commented on what he described as the administration’s lack of clarity in its communications.
“With these sorts of campaigns, you never really quite know where Pitzer is at … that vagueness is intentional,” Weidner said.
He further described how even though Pitzer’s position has been unpredictable, CSWA was still able to persevere until success.
“We did what we know works, which is to show up and to put pressure on them and to say that the community is not okay with this,” Weidner said. “They ultimately listened to that, which is awesome, so I guess we can’t always predict the timeline on which they’re gonna listen to that, but that strategy has worked in the past.”
CSWA celebrated their win during an afternoon party at Pitzer’s Grove House on Thursday, March 6, offering snacks and featuring speeches from those involved.
“I’m really glad that it all came together, and I’m just really happy that Pitzer finally caved,” Weidner said. “At a time when so much else is really depressing and out of our control, it feels really good to be able to do our best to do right by our community members.”
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