Sitting in against Sodexo

SEVERAL DOZEN students at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle took a stand for workers' rights by sitting in on May 11. Since the fall, students have been pressuring the UW administration to cut the university's $3.4 million contract with Sodexo, a collegiate food service provider with a record of workers rights abuses.

Students held multiple rallies, delivered letters to administrators and took part in formal meetings to persuade the university to listen to their demands. They even brought a former Sodexo employee from the Dominican Republic to campus to speak about her mistreatment by the company.

In every instance, however, the UW administration refused to take the students' demands seriously.

So on May 11, students decided to up the ante. At 1:30 p.m., about 50 activists entered the office of Interim President Phyllis Wise and presented her with a letter stating, "The time for dialogue is over; it's now up to President Wise to do what her students, faculty and community leaders have asked of her for over seven months: termination of the Sodexo contract."

For the next six hours, the group led a spirited occupation of Wise's office. From inside, activists spread the word about the occupation, blogged, chanted and discussed next steps. Outside, a couple dozen students led a solidarity rally, complete with song and dance, speak-outs and performances by a bluegrass band.

Needless to say, Wise was escorted out of the office as soon as it became clear that the students were there to stay. As Scott Davis, one of the occupiers, pointed out, "We were surrounded by 15 police officers all day, but no administration."

Eventually, protest representatives were able to speak to Eric Godfrey, vice president for student life, but again, they were stonewalled. Godfrey said that Wise wasn't going to meet with the students, and that they should leave the building immediately.

In a particularly condescending move, Godfrey played dumb and claimed he had only just learned about the issue in the last 24 hours, choosing to ignore the past seven months of students' attempts to communicate with the administration.

Tired of getting brushed off, students voted to continue the occupation. Later in the evening, police officers forcefully ended the sit-in, arresting 27 activists, who were cited with criminal trespass and then released. As each activist left the building one by one, they were met with rousing cheers from their supporters waiting outside.

Despite the congratulatory air of celebration as activists joined others outside, the importance of that day's events weren't lost on organizers. "Our administration would rather arrest their students than come out and talk to them about these issues," Davis said.

THE OCCUPATION was organized by the UW Kick Out Sodexo Coalition, a collection of 17 student groups representing a broad variety of interests, including United Students Against Sweatshops, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/a de Aztlán and Students Organizing for LGBTQ Equality.

The coalition has succeeded in gathering support from other sources as well. For example, the undergraduate student government passed a resolution calling on the university to end its contract with Sodexo, faculty members submitted a letter of support, and the campaign has received the backing of community groups and churches.

It's no wonder the campaign has found such widespread appeal. Independent watchdog organizations such as Human Rights Watch and TransAfrica Forum have documented a long list of human rights abuses at Sodexo workplaces around the world, including the use of intimidation tactics to discourage unionizing, stolen wages, payment of poverty wages, racial discrimination, sexual harassment, forced pregnancy tests for female employees, and highly unsafe and unhealthy work environments.

For these reasons, coalition members argue that maintaining a business relationship with Sodexo runs counter to the mission of the university, which positions itself as a leader and promoter of responsible international engagement.

But this isn't simply a matter of maintaining the integrity of the UW. The coalition fully recognizes that its fight to cut the UW's contract with Sodexo has positive implications for Sodexo employees and other workers across the globe.

In their letter to the UW administration, the coalition argues:

Contract cuts are the only proven and effective means of sending corporations a strong message that their human rights violations are not acceptable...By refusing to do business with Sodexo, we are also sending a clear message to both Sodexo and other corporations around the world that their unjust labor practices will never go unnoticed.

Coalition member Garrett Strain pointed out that as long as the UW administration maintains its contract with Sodexo, they are implicated in the company's abuses. After the protesters' arrests, Strain emphasized, "President Wise is not only ignoring her own students and faculty, but she's ignoring the rights of workers around the world who are affected by Sodexo's horrible labor standards."

The day after the occupation, two more rallies were held to pressure the administration to listen to students' demands. Wearing buttons that said, "You can't arrest student voices" and led by those arrested the night before, 60 students crammed into the foyer of a conference room where Wise was holding a meeting.

Several representatives from the group were allowed inside the conference room to demand that Wise meet with students. A few minutes later, they returned to the foyer to announce that once again the administration refused to engage them.

Coalition member Morgan Currier announced that Wise claimed she was not responsible for their arrests, and that she had more important things to do and had no interest in meeting with the coalition. "Is that any way to treat your tuition-paying students?" Currier yelled to the crowd, which responded with a resounding "No!"

Later that same afternoon, another group of 30 students rallied outside the UW Board of Regents meeting. Before entering, activists held a speak-out and led chants of "Hey hey, ho ho, Sodexo has got to go!" and "Wise, step off it, put people over profit!"

Kirk Bigger, one of the activists arrested, pointed out to the crowd, "Arresting students is not equivalent to communicating with them," highlighting just how unreasonable the administration has been.

After filling the Board of Regents meeting, the coalition was granted a five-minute spot on the agenda. Several coalition representatives made the case for ending the contract. Strain presented Wise with a question at the end of their presentation: "Why won't you cut the contract with Sodexo? This is a simple question that you should've answered last night, instead of arresting 27 students."

Wise dodged the question once more, claiming that she will continue the dialogue, and tried to excuse the administration's inaction as simply a result of miscommunication.

DESPITE THE arrests and the administration's dismissive response, the coalition shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, it looks stronger than ever. The arrests are making it increasingly clear to more and more students that the UW administration is complicit in Sodexo's human rights violations, and is seeking to maintain the status quo as much as possible.

At UW, as is the case at all public universities across the U.S., students and campus employees are being pressured to bear the brunt of harsh budget cuts resulting from the economic crisis. At UW, this means stomaching $200 million in cuts in state funding for the next two years--a 30 percent reduction from the previous period, which saw hundreds of millions more in cuts.

Already, tuition has increased 30 percent at UW in the last two years to help make up for the loss in state funding. Last year marked the first year in the history of UW that the university received more private funding than public.

And now, earlier this month, the Washington state legislature passed tuition-setting authority for UW from their hands to the Board of Regents. With the Board of Regents in control of tuition, the invariable outcome is one where budget gaps will continue to be filled with tuition hikes.

UW employees are similarly being squeezed, as workers are made to pay through hiring freezes, layoffs and stricter caps on state contributions to UW employee pensions.

To see these attacks through, the Board of Regents selected a conservative hatchet man, Michael Young, as the UW's new president. Young worked previously for the Bush administration, served as a law clerk for conservative Supreme Court Judge William Rehnquist, and oversaw budget cuts as president at the University of Utah.

With this appointment, the Board of Regents is essentially saying the gloves are off; regents are going to be pushing through highly unpopular policies, and need someone who will strong-arm students and workers into complying.

It's in this context of privatization and increased austerity that confrontations with the administration, as well as with state legislatures and others in positions of power, will only increase in number and intensity in the months and years to come.

And it's in this same context that the work of the UW Kick Out Sodexo Coalition offers a glimmer of hope. The coalition is not only taking a principled stance for the rights of workers around the world, but is also demonstrating what a successful fightback against austerity and attacks on workers could look like.

It is through such militant, collective actions that activists can protect workers' and students' rights, and build the organizations and experiences that are needed to defend the public education and services we depend on.

Actions like these are moments of inspiration, as well as learning and organization-building opportunities. As such, they should be supported and joined by all those who are concerned about the well-being of students and workers across the globe.