Around 30 students picketed the entrances to Pomona College’s Frary dining hall at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 10 — chanting, holding cardboard signs and drumming on buckets. The demonstration, organized by the Claremont Student Workers Alliance (CSWA), encouraged 5C students to boycott the dining hall and advocate for the reinstatement of recently fired cook Rolando “Rolo” Araiza.
Picketers said the boycott directly pressured Pomona to rehire Rolo, asking students to spend meal-plan money at the other colleges. They added that making noise in the picket line drew attention to their cause, something other forms of demonstrations may not accomplish.
“I think you can do a lot of talking, but I think when you really start singing and yelling is when you can really get your message across in different ways,” Una Marie Lake SC ’29 said.
Tag: CSWA
Pomona College to drop Starbucks pending faculty approval
Pomona College may drop Starbucks as a provider for Cafe 47 following a Feb. 25 meeting between members of Associated Students of Pomona College’s (ASPC) Food Committee and Assistant Vice President of Facilities & Campus Services Bob Robinson, according to multiple sources.
5C community continues efforts to reinstate Rolando Araiza after denied grievance
After Pomona College denied a claim for wrongful termination of dining hall worker and union leader Rolando “Rolo” Arazia, around 30 people gathered outside of Pomona College’s Frary Dining Hall on Monday, Feb. 23, to rally for his reinstatement.
Pomona ASPC and CSWA continue efforts to reinstate dining hall worker Rolando Araiza
ASPC unanimously voted to pass a CSWA-backed resolution that demands the rehiring of Frary dining hall cook and union leader Rolando Araiza on Thursday. The decision solidifies ASPC’s support in presenting the resolution to the Pomona College administration.
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.
“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.
Moving forward, ASPC President Grace Zheng PO ’26 said it will be up to the 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.
Union leader and Frary cook Rolando Araiza terminated; Pomona faces backlash
Pomona College is under fire for terminating Frary Dining Hall cook and union leader Rolando Araiza last Thursday after 21 years of employment, months before a new union contract is due in June. Students and workers are campaigning for Arazia to be reinstated under claims that Pomona’s decision was influenced by his involvement with workers unions.
5C student organizations host first Leftist Coffee Hour
Student organizations from across the 5Cs gathered at the Motley Coffeehouse on Friday, Nov. 7 for the first 5C “Leftist Coffee Hour.”
Students protest Starbucks at Pomona’s Café 47, business slows
On Thursday, Oct. 16, several Claremont and national labor organizing groups held a teach-in at the Motley Coffeehouse in response to Pomona College’s Café 47 switching their supplier from Peet’s Coffee to Starbucks Coffee.
The teach-in, titled “Why Starbucks?”promoted a petition to remove the corporation from Claremont campuses alongside nationwide anti-Starbucks movements, and encouraged the boycott of Café 47 and other Starbucks-supplied establishments across the 7Cs.
We The People Are Rising: CSWA supports 5C student attendance of Los Angeles anti-ICE rally
Thanks to efforts by CSWA, 5C students attended the October 4. We The People Are Rising protest in Los Angeles.
CSWA celebrates former employee Adan Campos’ rehiring agreement with Pitzer
Pitzer College agreed to rehire former McConnell Bistro employee Adan Campos after a months-long fight from the Claremont Student Worker Alliance.
CSWA and Motley discuss future of coffeehouse’s decoration policy at town hall
The Motley and CSWA held a town hall discussion on Nov. 12 about regaining autonomy over the coffeehouse following its reopening.