The Martlet

As the third week of the SUB strike rolls past, unionized workers on the picket have started receiving strike pay of $150 from their union, as well as offers from other unions on campus for further financial assistance.

For student workers who earned $9.95 per hour working inside the building before the strike, the strike pay is equivalent to working 15 hours — more hours than what many logged in a week.

This could be seen as incentive for the workers to keep holding on for the $1.50 raise they’re striking for. But, there are more than just student workers on the line.

Full-time employees of the building who earned $15.85 to $20.85 are also on the picket — and $150 doesn’t come close to their regular paycheque.

“I’ve been working in the SUB for seven years,” said Nicole DiGiorgio, the Chef de Parti at Bean There. “I just love working here. I mend the broken hearts of my students; I am the mother of the SUB. Some of my student workers from seven years ago are married now, with children. It is quite something.”

DiGiorgio says she is on strike strictly for the students.

“I could do something else as I come all the way from Mill Bay,” she said. “This is so important. The students have had no real raise since I came here seven years ago. They need to make money to pay rent and debts,

but [by] working somewhere else they would have to take fewer classes ... In the end, working here helps them have less debt.”

DiGiorgio says someone needs to “get a heart” as she feels the SUB is one big family and should look after one another.

“I have lost a lot of kids already. It makes me sad,” said DiGiorgio.

Naomi Rittberg from Catering and Conference is one of the students diGiorgio feels strongly about. Rittberg has worked at the SUB since 2003, and appreciates the sense of community in the building as well as the opportunity to work in what she calls a “diverse, interesting, and consistently stimulating environment.”

Rittberg books meeting rooms, hosts conference events and organizes parties.

“We are losing tons of money not working in September,” Rittberg said. “In a way, I feel we are being left to rot.”

Rittberg says there are reasons she personally keeps showing up to picket.

“We are not doing this to ‘make a point’ or to ‘have fun,’” she said. “We want the SUB open again too. This strike is a symptom of a totally dysfunctional operation.”

Rittberg says the workers are striking because the building has not been kept up to industry

standards over the last decade.

“What we are asking for may seem like a lot, but considering the bargaining history of the past six

years, and the fact the UVSS supports a living wage campaign, it is really reasonable,” Rittberg said.

The strike seemed sudden to many students who were unaware of the history, yet each worker said the strike is about more than a momentary conflict over wages; it has been a long time coming.

Dean Prior is a chef in the main kitchen who has worked in the building for six years. He said he believes that institutional memory affects negotiations, namely with a UVSS board that turns over every year.

“I started cooking when I was 14, and I have been in the business for 22 years,” explained Prior.

“I’ve always had the pleasure of working next to someone who studies anthropology and digs in Romania, or another who wants to talk about philosophy. It is a pretty special place to work.”

So if working in the SUB is so special, why is Prior standing outside of the building instead of cooking in it?

“For the past six years workers have not had a fair increase in favour of helping the SUB get back on its feet,” said Prior. “I feel the

treatment of staff has degenerated drastically over this period.”

Prior explained that a wage increase would fix the tension in the SUB by solving the problem of high turnover. Because the SUB has traditionally had trouble hiring adequate numbers of staff, Prior says he’s put in a position of hiring everyone, even if they aren’t qualified.

“It feels like a sinking ship,” said Prior. “If I can’t hire enough staff, I have trouble keeping

things clean. No one will work for this wage.”

Food Services Manager Brad Mielke worries that with the strike he will be unable to pay his mortgage or keep his child in daycare.

“I worry more that if I go back to work without a decent wage I will have the same problems with

staffing that I did before,” said Mielke.

Mielke has worked in the SUB for 14 years, and says he’s confused with how the situation got this far.

He says he’s had trouble keeping staff for the last two years and has asked management to be proactive in fixing the problems with no real response.

“We are not trying to drain the society, we are trying to make it better,” Mielke said. “We are not an evil union after money for our own pockets.

“We want a living wage, which the UVSS campaigns for, and a wage that will allow us to attract quality staff so we can run creative businesses.”

“We are not doing this because it is easy,” Dean Prior concluded. “We

love our jobs and care about the SUB ... I can’t wait to get back to work.”