Workers Fired Over Legal Status While Trying To Unionize
On December 2, 2011, Pomona College in Claremont, California fired 17 workers for failing to produce sufficient proof of their ability to work legally in the United States. Before the firings took place, food workers at the college, located in eastern Los Angeles County, had been trying to organize a union while also holding campus protests in hopes of earning better wages.
According to reports, the decision came as a shock to the workers, many of whom had been working at the college for 10 or even 20 years. One of the leaders of the unionization effort was quoted in the New York Times saying:
“We were here for a very long time and there was never a complaint,” said Christian Torres, 25, a cook who had worked at the college for six years. “But now all of the sudden we were suspect, and they didn’t want us to work here anymore.”
Months before the firings, it was reported that a gag order had been instated, prohibiting food service employees from talking to students in the dining halls, causing many to assume it was to prevent sympathizers from joining the workers’ cause.
All of this left the fired employees with many questions. Were the powers that be at Pomona College anti-union, anti-immigrant, or both? If so many employees had worked there for years or decades without being required to provide proof of legal working status, why now?
According to the Workers For Justice website:
The demand for documentation was not brought on by a federal agency. Instead, Pomona launched the internal audit itself. Pomona administrators said they properly verified documents at the time of hiring, but claimed some workers had “discrepancies” and wanted documents again.
Since the controversy began, a large number of Pomona College students, faculty, and alumni are vocalizing their indignation, debating whether or not the school is living up to its liberal ideals. According to the same report from the New York Times, “Some alumni are now refusing to donate to the college, while some students are considering discouraging prospective freshmen from enrolling.”
Regardless of one’s legal status in this country, it has to be pretty devastating to work somewhere for years and then get handed a pink slip after months of chaos and uncertainty. What’s most surprising to many is that it didn’t happen at a cut-throat corporation, but rather a liberal arts college.
References:
[Photo By Amerique; Video By uniteherelocal11 ]