Student, community activists organize ‘speak-out’ for subcontracted workers Thursday

By Ishaan Srivastava and Young Min Kim

Student and community activists organized a ”speak-out” for workers Thursday evening, raising their concerns regarding the campus administration’s use of subcontracted workers.

Organized by the campus Student Labor Committee, a group aiming to show solidarity with workers in UC Berkeley, the speak-out was held at the campus’s Multicultural Community Center with more than 100 students and community members attending.

Four subcontracted workers shared their experiences at the event, describing the difficulties they faced as subcontracted workers and advocating the administration to repeal this practice in favor of insourcing labor.

“We are feeling like second-class workers,” said Antonio Ruiz, a parking attendant who has worked since 1994, at the event. “We’re not gonna give up until we’re treated the same.”

Campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof said it is the obligation of the UC Office of the President to affect the changes to employment practices demanded by the activists. He added that Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, toward whom the demands and later protests were directed, is not a party to the employment negotiations.

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[Source]: Daily Californian