Pomona College and UNITE HERE Local 11, the union representing the college’s dining service employees, began negotiations on Sept. 8 for a new collective bargaining agreement.
Elias Pluecker PO ’28, student organizer for UNITE HERE and a member of the Pomona chapter of the Claremont Student Worker Alliance (CSWA) and, said that many employees are struggling to make ends meet and often commute from far away, unable to afford living closer to the college.
Tag: UNITE HERE Local 11
Milk & Honey delegates to Pomona admin with Local 11 and dining workers, demands fair labor practices and reopening plan
Milk & Honey student workers and Pomona College dining workers gathered as a delegation on Monday, Sept. 21, to demand fair labor practices for both Milk & Honey and full-time union workers from Pomona administrators.
News and sports round-up: What’s happening at the 7Cs?
Editorial note: The shorts in the news and sports sections are intended to complement articles to come in TSL’s first official issue, to be released on Sept. 25. TSL is currently conducting research and soliciting interviews to develop these stories further, and welcomes any insights that the community can provide
Students picket and boycott Frary Dining Hall to protest termination of cook Rolando Araiza
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.
Coop Fountain operations at risk following destruction of Oldenborg Center next academic year
Plans to destroy Pomona College’s Oldenborg Center in the 2026-2027 academic school year could threaten operations at the Coop Fountain, according to student representatives familiar with the situation. As part of the college’s Global Pomona initiative, Oldenborg will be replaced with the Center for Global Engagement, a facility meant to encourage both global and local partnerships among students and faculty. But one detail in the building’s plans has alarmed students: unlike Oldenborg, the new center will not have an industrial kitchen.
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.
Where are the PZ 3? Wins, losses and the fight still to come
When UNITE HERE! Local 11 representatives Natasha Wong and Noel Rodriguez informed fired workers Stephanie Smith, Alexis Ongpoy and Kevin Ayala that they had been offered jobs on May 11, the news spread quickly throughout the Claremont community. The offers of employment for the former workers, known as the PZ
CSWA demonstrations disrupt Pitzer’s Admitted Students Day, demand rehiring
On Saturday, April 15, members of the Claremont Student & Worker Alliance (CSWA) organized a series of demonstrations at Pitzer College’s Admitted Students Day. These demonstrations are the latest in CSWA’s campaign to demand that the college hire three former subcontracted dining workers who allege they were laid off due
CSWA hosts second McConnell Boycott
By 5:02 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, over 25 5C students had picketed both entrances to Pitzer College’s McConnell Dining Hall to protest the firing of three former dining workers: Stephanie Smith, Alexis Ongpoy and Kevin Ayala. The boycott was organized by members of student organization Claremont Student Worker Alliance
Calling Pitzer to hire three former subcontracted dining workers, CSWA increases student activism
This week, members of the Claremont Student Worker Alliance (CSWA) escalated actions at Pitzer College in support of three former subcontracted dining workers who allege they were terminated from their positions in retaliation for expressing union support. CSWA has organized a student-led campaign to demand that Pitzer hire Stephanie Smith,