Cafeteria workers stage two strikes this week to end poverty wages at Toronto university campuses
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Feb. 2, 2017) - Cafeteria workers working for Aramark at York University and the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) campus held one-day strikes this week, as they escalated their fight to end what they say are poverty wages. These workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 75, have been bargaining a new collective agreement at each location for several months.
As the provincial government considers a number of measures to address so-called precarious work ? low-wage jobs with little job security ? members of the York University and UTSC communities are calling on the school to make a commitment to good jobs, so no worker on campus earns a wage that keeps them in poverty.
"We work hard to feed the students and staff on campus, and we're proud of the work we do," says Jemilie Adajar, a food service supervisor working for Aramark at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. "But too many of my co-workers struggle to get by. There shouldn't be any poverty-wage jobs on a university campus, especially at world-class schools like U of T and York."
The majority of the Aramark workers at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus earn only $11.50 an hour, while the average hourly wage for Aramark workers at York is around $12.21.
Open-ended strikes could occur at both York University and the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus as early as next week, according to the union.
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