After being fired by Pitzer College last February due to a lack of proper work permits, Adan Campos — former lead cook and sous chef of McConnell Dining Hall — spoke out in an interview with 5C Student & Worker Alliance (CSWA) on the realities of Pitzer’s actions against workers.
On Oct. 24, CSWA posted the interview on Instagram, where Campos discussed the difficulties he faced as a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) worker. DACA is a program championed by the Obama administration that protects some undocumented immigrants from deportation and allows them to obtain work permits for a period of two years, with opportunities to renew.
Earlier this year, while Campos was renewing his expired DACA paperwork so that he could continue working at McConnell, he was fired for not having a work permit. He reapplied a month and a half later with his renewed paperwork.
“They told me I was overqualified for the position and that my ex-coworkers wouldn’t get along with me anymore,” Campos said in CSWA’s post.
Campos also stated that Pitzer expressed concerns about the possible impacts of the results of the upcoming presidential election; if Trump wins, Campos said, he could terminate DACA, a promise that he attempted to do during his presidency in 2020.
“Pretty much [Pitzer] just kept giving reasons why I couldn’t go back to a place where I have been for almost a decade,” Campos said. “To my community.”
According to CSWA’s post, Campos lost both his medical and dental insurance after being fired and is now struggling financially. While he has applied for other jobs, he hasn’t had much luck and is currently working around 20 to 25 hours a week through Instawork. When he worked under Pitzer, Campos was putting in over 40 hours a week.
Many students at Pitzer have criticized administrators for their role in Campos’ situation, arguing that their refusal to rehire Campos does not align with Pitzer’s core value of social responsibility.
“You can’t preach being a social justice school and then unethically lay off your workers,” Lennon Nuttall PZ ’27 said.
Derrick Guardado PZ ’28, a line server at McConnell dining hall, said he empathizes with Campos because he knows firsthand how hard dining hall employees work.
“They’re all a big family at McConnell,” Guardado said. “For Pitzer to push [Campos] aside and say ‘Hey you can’t work here anymore’ is disrespectful.”
When asked for comment on Campos’ situation, the college’s communications team stated that it could not comment on the specifics of “confidential personnel matters.”
“Pitzer is committed to a fair and consistent process for staff while always adhering to the terms of the union agreement,” they wrote in an email to TSL.
In the meantime, CSWA has continued to show support for Campos. Most recently, on Oct. 21, they held a delegation at McConnell. They have also promoted a “Rehire Adan Campos” petition online, which has amassed over 1200 signatures from 5C students, staff and faculty.
“The McConnell workers are all very good and hardworking people,” Guardado said. “They do everything they can to provide for themselves and their family, so it’s important they get the chance to work.”
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