Workers deserve more respect

If you have lived in the dorms at UCLA then you know what
I’m talking about when I ask you to recall the most
anticipated, exhilarating and even titillating night as an
underclassman. This is the night when everyone on the Hill finally
attends an activity ““ the Carnival of Desserts!

Starry-eyed students rush the food-covered tables with backpacks
in hand, trying to grab as much free, flavored sugar as possible.
But for some reason I can never seem to enjoy it; there is one
enormously important thing constantly overlooked at this event
which always ruins my chance to enjoy the festivities.

It is how the students treat the workers at the event.

Of course some students say “thank you” and offer a
smile when handed their treats, but there are way too many that do
not. Come to think of it, the Carnival of Desserts is not the only
time I see this. Every day in the dorm cafeterias, the campus
bathrooms, the campus eateries and a million other places around
UCLA, there are service workers being taken for granted.

But why should we expect more from the students when so little
respect is shown to the workers by their own employers? Is it okay
to pay workers under a living wage? Is it showing someone they are
appreciated to offer no opportunity for advancement? At such a
prestigious university that gives off an image quite contrary to
the facts, I expect more.

In an effort to improve the problem I see every day with the
mistreatment of the service workers here at UCLA, I have recently
joined a campus organization that I heard about at the “Not
My President” rally. This group is called the Student Worker
Front, which is made up of students who work in support of AFSCME,
the union of which the majority of the UCLA service workers are a
part.

I was very disturbed to hear at a meeting with this group that
in recent renegotiations, if you can call it that, UCLA simply
tossed aside every single request of the service workers. With a
list of 40 requests, it is expected that maybe not every one will
be met, but I think we can do better than crumpling all of them
into a ball and throwing them to the ground.

When UCLA can spend almost $100,000 on a logo that my dog could
probably recreate with mud on the kitchen floor, I think we need to
start really evaluating where our money is going.

According to AFSCME, more than 85 percent of the service workers
at UCLA do not even make a living wage, which is the amount
projected as necessary to pay rent, food and other basic
necessities. In Los Angeles, this is estimated to be around $14
dollars an hour. AFSCME says that 1,551 workers employed by UCLA do
not make enough money to live.

But while UCLA continues to create poverty in Los Angeles as one
of the city’s largest employers, it continues to invest in
its image of greatness with new faculty, buildings and a hospital.
A financial report compiled by AFSCME shows that of UCLA’s
recent investments, $1,370,000,000 has gone toward these three
things, and $0 has gone to the workers who keep this institution
running.

These findings make me wonder if the University of California
recognizes how crucial the service workers are to UCLA. And yet, it
seems to me that recognizing the importance of service work on
campus should be a no-brainer.

So why should we care? You might be thinking that students have
nothing to do with the contract the service workers are fighting
for, that this is between the UC and its workers.

But the truth is that students do have a say and are absolutely
vital to the workers’ struggle for a better contract. And
when you think about it, if UCLA feels comfortable dehumanizing its
service workers, who’s to say it won’t feel comfortable
dehumanizing its students, faculty or anyone else?

This situation threatens all of us.

So this year instead of just voting at the floor government
meeting to buy a card for the housekeeping on your floor, do
something more about this injustice at UCLA. Thank the service
workers and attend events in support of them and their struggle.
This is a problem we should not overlook.

Julin is a third-year mathematics student.