New code of conduct for workers
By Sarah Bradley
In hopes of reinforcing the values of the "Three C's," Catholic social teaching and universal human rights as a Jesuit university, and to prevent future violations of these values, the Labor Action Committee (part of the Santa Clara Community Action Program), along with its coalition of 15 campus clubs and associations, has developed a code of conduct for our university's workers.
The code has three core principles -- a guarantee of the right to unionize, the right to a living wage and the right to learn English.
First, the LAC has repeatedly witnessed the fear workers have towards communicating with their management, whether it concerns changes to lunch breaks, overtime pay, or a simple request to change something about how their workplace currently functions. Many of the subcontracted workers for DMS, janitorial services, and Bon AppetÃt, food services, do not speak English well, thus increasing the power gap between them and their bosses.
Workers who come to us feel that they are risking their jobs simply to come and talk to us students. Many workers also distrust their union representatives or fellow workers, afraid that they won't help them . This is not how a Jesuit environment should feel. Guaranteeing "freedom from intimidation," "access to campus for union representatives," "freedom of association and collective bargaining rights" and "freedom of expression" in the code's section on unionization would go far in combating the culture of fear that has become so entangled in labor relations on campus.
Second, a living wage is not a foreign term to our university. Santa Clara has made a verbal commitment to a living wage policy since 1999. Living wage is based on the cost of living of the area, annually adjusted for inflation. This means people who work 40 hour weeks can afford shelter, food, health care and other basic necessities in this area. According to the City of San Jose Finance department, the hourly wage determination is currently $12.83 with benefits and $14.08 without benefits. However, our verbal agreement doesn't mean that everyone is actually getting paid a living wage, especially workers who are subcontracted and are thus not managed by the school. There have been over 40 cited violations of the policy within Bon AppetÃt alone.
It is crucial that this oral agreement be cemented in a written policy to ensure that no other violations occur. Since this is something that the school has already promised, its enforcement should not seem radical or unreasonable.
Lastly, access to English as a second language classes needs to be codified. Although the ESL program costs no money, is offered by SCCAP volunteers and occurs during the workers' free time, a number of janitorial workers have been "prohibited" by their bosses to attend such classes. ESL classes are a win-win situation -- proficiency in English fosters a community where all individuals can communicate and build relationships. It augments job performance, enhances economic opportunity, social mobility, integration into society and is part of the human right to education.
Much of the controversy that surrounds the code describes it as "overly ambitious," a concern with two main brands: demographic and economic. The code of conduct defines "worker" as encompassing "all employees working on campus premises whether direct employees, employees of contractors, and/or employees of subcontractors, not limited by length of employment term," which includes but is not limited to: "food service workers, janitorial staff, grounds staff, parking attendants, security officers, clerical workers, librarians, drivers, engineers, construction workers, professors, teaching assistants, faculty, lecturers, and instructors of all appointment types (including full and part time, those with 'faculty status' and without, as well as those who are tenured, tenurable, and nontenurable)."
It's important to note, however, that student workers on campus are not included in the living wage policy.
In addition, some are wary of the inclusion of teachers to unionize. This is a valid concern, but for LAC, teachers are also workers and should be able to collectively bargain, if two-thirds of them decide to form or join a union. The code offers the right to unionize as an option, not a mandate.
The economic issue is, what will this code cost? Because we do not have access to this sort of information, we have no reason to think that tuition would increase due to this code. Since budget transparency is not required for private universities, such a dialogue must wait until we can form a committee including human resources and finance representatives. In addition, unions are paid for by their members and costs would be limited to what is negotiated between the university and the union, if it were to be created. Again, ESL classes are free and profitable to everyone.
In terms of a living wage, it's probable that most staff and personnel already receive more than $12 or $14 an hour. As for the subcontracted workers, our previous moral commitment to a living wage and thus their decent standard of living should not be postponed until a more convenient time period in the market.
Copies of the code of conduct as well as a comment box are available in the SCCAP office in downstairs Benson.
Sarah Bradley is the incoming program coordinator for the Labor Action Committee. She is a junior political science and communication double major.