The applause greeting union organizer Len Nalenz’s announcement of the clauses of the University dining staff’s new contract rang loud and long among food service workers who gathered in one of the main Usdan dining rooms last Tuesday.
Food service workers and students expressed dismay at the slow pace of contract negotiations at a United Student Labor Action Coalition (USLAC) meeting last Tuesday. The union that represents all food service workers on campus, UNITE HERE Local Chapter 217, is currently in talks with foodservice provider Bon Appétit to negotiate the details of their contract.
A proposal to install a new flat-screen television in Westco’s common lounge has divided residents, with tensions looming large at an emotionally-charged debate last week.
Power tools buzzed and hammers thwacked on a recent morning at O’Rourke’s Diner as workers busily prepared for the diner’s official opening next Monday, Feb. 11th. The story of the beloved diner’s rise from the ashes of a midnight fire touched the entire Middletown community, spurring the creation of a diverse coalition that came together to help out in their hour of need.
Forty years after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., the University community along with several distinguished guests celebrated the civil rights leader’s life and legacy. In a keynote address on Tuesday, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, founder of the noted a cappella group “Sweet Honey in the Rock” and Curator of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, urged young people to apply their energy towards the issues of their time rather than continuing to fight the battles of the 1960s.