As labor and work safety organizations observe Workers’ Memorial Day worldwide, Workers for Justice and UNITE HERE released a new report called “Pain and Fear: Injuries and Silence in Pomona College’s Dining Halls and Kitchens.” (PDF, 1.4mb).

The report discusses the union’s findings of a high incidence rate of injuries to food service workers at Pomona College over the last two years, and the concern that workers are suffering through work-related pain in silence.

In a survey of workers, more than 60% of respondents reported they had not been trained in numerous areas of workplace safety, and only about half of workers who experienced work-related pain indicated that they had reported their pain to supervisors.

Elisea Mendoza, a cashier at Pomona for 18 years, injured her hand while working in July of 2009 but did not immediately report the injury. “I was afraid they would take action against me,” she said. Pain from her injuries has left Elisea unable to work for over a year. Click here to read more stories from Pomona College dining hall workers.

Workers and student supporters will distribute the report to Pomona College alumni who are returning to the campus this weekend for the college’s annual alumni weekend festivities.

Hundreds of workers, students, clergy and community members will take to the streets on Friday, March 30, celebrating the legacy of Cesar Chavez by calling for justice and peace for food service workers organizing a union at Pomona College.

The call for peace comes after a prolonged period of bitter conflict on the prestigious Inland Valley campus. Unprovoked by any federal agency and in the middle of a union organizing drive, Pomona College administration demanded late last year that workers produce documents proving their eligibility to work in the United States. Less than one month later, the college fired 16 dining hall workers. The decision terrorized immigrants and turned Pomona College into a battleground with protests, vigils, boycotts of dining halls and more. Hundreds of alumni have pledged not to donate to Pomona College.

Now, supporters are calling on Pomona College to sign a neutrality pledge, to allow Pomona dining workers to decide among themselves whether they want a union, in an atmosphere free from threats and intimidation.

Relondo Araiza is a dining hall worker who called for a fair process to organize a union.

“All we want is for our voices to be heard,” said Araiza. “Because Pomona is a great college, where ideas matter, and students learn to say what they think, we thought our voices would count, too.”

By Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times

March 31, 2012

The protest at Pomona College on Friday was much like a big outdoor celebration. Tables were set in the middle of the street, a mariachi played, and electrical and grocery union workers served carne asada. But beneath it simmered a dispute between dining hall workers and the administration that has placed the small liberal arts college on the map of the nation’s battles over labor and immigration policy.

Read more.

Two weeks ago, the editorial board of The Student Life—Pomona’s campus newspaper—published this editorial, arguing that the release of the report would “promote the legitimate interest of the community in accessing all the information behind an event that caused deep pain for many students, faculty, college officials, community members and board members themselves.”

The Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) added to the call by passing a resolution asking for the board to release the full text of the report on its investigation. The text of the resolution is available here.

The trustees’ decision to conduct this investigation into employees’ work authorization papers profoundly affected the lives of 17 people and threw the community into turmoil. Workers, students, faculty, and alumni deserve to know what led to these actions of Paul Efron and other trustees.

In December, Pomona College fired 17 immigrant workers, 16 of whom were dining hall workers trying to form a union. Several of them worked for Pomona College for decades.

In honor of Cesar Chavez Day, join us for a Dining Hall in the Streets at Pomona College with these courageous workers and hundreds of labor, community and student supporters.

Download a flyer about the event here.

WHEN: Friday, March 30, 2012 at 12:00PM

WHERE: Meet at Shelton Park at the corner of Bonita and Harvard in the Claremont Village.

RSVP HERE or to Sylvia Carranza, (213) 381-5611 x128 or scarranza@launionaflcio.org.

“Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty.”
–Oscar Romero

On Friday, the community came together for a student-led Teatro performance. In the performance, students symbolically took back decision-making power from the Board of Trustees with testimony about how the December firings affected them and a proclamation of “We Are Pomona”. You can read coverage of the event in The Student Life.

Read More

“At the beginning I didn’t like or understand the rallies,” Juarez said. “You start hearing about labor rights and stuff like that, and I just dozed off. They’re not clear words, they’re not applicable because we’ve never held jobs either so you can’t relate as easily, but it became very real last semester.”

Read More

“You’d think that if any place was going to be a safe haven for immigrants, it would be at colleges and universities,” says Peter Dreier, a professor at Occidental College in L.A. proper. “But that doesn’t seem to be the case at Pomona College. They’ve joined in that wave of anti-immigrant hysteria.”

Read more

Pomona is a college, not a greedy corporation. This was not an ICE raid. A federal agency did not prompt this investigation. So why did Pomona check workers’ papers now? The firings come in the midst of workers’ efforts to form a union – an effort Pomona College has opposed.

Take action and send an email to Paul Efron, Chair of the Pomona Board of Trustees and Goldman Sachs Advisory Director.

Your name will be added to a petition calling on the college to allow the dining hall workers to choose to unionize without intimidation from the college.