Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) voted Thursday to pass a resolution, backed by the Claremont Student Worker Alliance (CSWA), for the reinstatement of terminated Frary dining hall cook and union leader Rolando Araiza. The unanimous decision solidifies ASPC’s support in presenting the resolution to the Pomona College administration.
ASPC said they will share the resolution with Pomona administration and its student body today.
CSWA presented the resolution at ASPC’s open council meeting last Thursday, Feb. 6, furthering their efforts to immediately reinstate Araiza.
The vote was set to take place on Feb. 19, following a two-week open comment period that allows students to provide feedback on the matter. However, ASPC announced plans to accelerate the vote by one week due to “the urgency of the issue,” in an email to Pomona’s student body Tuesday.
The resolution claims Araiza was unfairly terminated due to his role in workers’ unions during “a pivotal moment in union affairs,” as the union’s contract with the college expires this June.
“[W]e believe that this termination served as an attack on the strength and unity of the union at this critical moment, and not done in order to keep the high standards of production and service at Frary Dining Hall,” the resolution reads.
“[W]e believe that this termination served as an attack on the strength and unity of the union at this critical moment, and not done in order to keep the high standards of production and service at Frary Dining Hall,” the resolution reads.
On Feb. 4, in an emailed statement to TSL, Pomona said that it does not make employment decisions based on union participation. The college said it did not have further comments on Thursday’s vote.
Since Araiza’s termination Jan. 29, CSWA has collaborated with students and dining hall staff to collect over 900 signatures from the 5C community in support of Araiza’s reinstatement.
On Thursday afternoon, CSWA and around 55 other students presented the petition to Pomona’s Human Resources department and demanded Araiza’s immediate return to work, applying further pressure to the administration for a response.
“The support from the students was really powerful and heartwarming and meant a lot to the workers,” CSWA member and author of the resolution Elias Pleucker PO ’28 said.
Pleuker said although he hopes Pomona will be receptive to the organization’s demands, further action will likely be necessary for the administration to adopt the resolution.
“What I expect to happen is that they’ll write it off … and that we’ll have to proceed accordingly, but just have that as one more tool in our toolbox as we proceed,” Pleucker said
According to ASPC’s South Campus Representative Soren Murphy-Pearson PO ’29, if the demands are not met, ASPC will similarly undertake additional measures to meet the resolution’s goals.
In alignment with its bylaws, ASPC required two senators to sponsor the proposed resolution. Moving forward, ASPC President Grace Zheng PO ’26 said it will be up to these two sponsors, Murphy-Pearson and Vice President of Student Affairs Ireland Griffin PO ’26, to spearhead the next steps in fulfilling the resolution’s demands.
“If a resolution passes, and I hope it will, I presume it probably will be up to individual senators to come back to the Senate and be like, ‘Hey, these are the next steps that we ask,’” Zheng said. “Formally, until now, the only thing that has been proposed is a resolution, and we haven’t been told of next steps in terms of ‘we’re doing the resolution and then this afterwards.’”
However, Zheng said that according to ASPC bylaws, resolutions are reserved for matters where the senate lacks direct decision-making authority. In this effort, Pomona administration controls employment status.
Still, and now with the support of ASPC, CSWA remains committed to advocating for Araiza’s reinstatement.
“The dining hall workers themselves are a very important part of the Pomona experience and the dining experience,“ Murphy-Pearson said. “They talk to you and they care about you, so you should return the favor … [The resolution is] also about making sure that everyone has significant rights as a member of the community and as a worker at Pomona.”