If you were on campus this afternoon, you might have seen a crowd marching from Tommy Trojan to The Village. That crowd was demanding higher wages for the janitorial staff at USC.
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Today marked the last day of USC’s contract with Aramark, the company that employs the campus janitorial staff. For months, the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, which is under the United Service Workers West and the janitorial staff have been calling for a wage increase. In response, USC proposed a 30 cent wage increase. But this afternoon, protestors gathered in the Village to demand more. Many, like Union president David Huerta, say the proposal is still far below a living wage.
DAVID HUERTA: And for an institution that’s worth upwards of $5 billion to only offered 30 cents to essential workers, I think it’s not only an insult to these custodial custodial workers who have basically maintained this this institution operated operable during these full two years. But in my opinion, it’s an, it’s an insult to working people.
The protestors were mainly union leaders and janitorial staff. However, some students also took part in the demonstration. Members of SCALE, USC’s Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation, like freshman Liddy Woodford agrees with Huerta.
LIDDY WOODFORD: so these people aren’t directly employed by USC, so they’re not protected by, like any rights that USC workers might have.
Amelie Whitesell, who is also a member of SCALE, is thinking about ways students can support organizers.
AMELIE WHITESELL: they need students to help them due to like clauses in the contracts. They can’t be like doing some organizing on campus. So they need to really get the word out.
Huerta sees great value in the student participation during these protests.
HUERTA: I feel a sense of optimism that working people are finding their voice and by the extension the student body are seeing that and they want to be part of it.
If USC does not respond to the demonstrations today, the SEIU organizers and protestors plan to continue next week.