ASU dining hall workers have begun first-round negotiations with their employer, Aramark, demanding fair wages, health care, pensions, respect and more in their new contract.
After the first protest on Oct. 22, UNITE HERE Local 11 organized a second one on Nov. 13 in front of the Memorial Union, with over 60 members, including students and elected officials, participating in solidarity with workers.
READ MORE: ASU dining hall workers protest over alleged surveillance by management
Eric Cadman, a food service worker at Hassayampa Dining Hall, said negotiations with the company have been "fruitful."
"There were a number of things that they did agree to," Cadman said. "There were some things that they pushed back on that we're going to continue to negotiate and fight for."
Victoria Stahl, the communications organizer at UNITE HERE Local 11, said from what she's heard from workers, there have been fewer cases where workers have been interrogated or surveilled since the last protest.
She said workers started negotiating in late October after the initial picket line and have future dates planned to meet with the company.
Aramark wrote in a statement, "While we are disappointed by the timing of this action, we respect our employees' right to demonstrate and are focused on negotiating in good faith with the union to reach a fair and mutually beneficial agreement."
Student clubs such as Students for Justice in Palestine at ASU and the Young Democratic Socialists of America at ASU attended the protest to show support for their community.
Isaac Burdge, a fourth-year student studying chemical engineering and a co-chair of YDSA, said it's essential for students to show unity when workers who serve and help students are mistreated.
"Seeing the students support ... shows that these students are capable of having compassion for issues that don't necessarily directly affect them," Burdge said.
Aramark needs to bring some of its profit back to the campuses and provide its services at the correct prices to help make campuses more livable, said Hayden Nguyen, the co-chair of SJP at ASU and a junior studying management and business.
"Students, we are becoming more and more aware that whatever happens to these workers ... is equally as beneficial to us as students as it is to the workers," Nguyen said. "We're going to keep showing up."
Rep. Brian Garcia of District 8 said it was "incredible" to see students participating in the protest and being involved in the process of fighting for workers' rights.
"At the end of the day, it comes down to respecting members' rights," Garcia said. "We're all here to make sure that we are feeding ASU, that we are engaging in fair negotiations, and those raised wages and getting a fair contract."
Cadman said they will continue to negotiate with Aramark to ensure workers receive a good contract with "everything that we need."
"We're not fighting to become millionaires," Cadman said. "We're fighting to survive out here with the rising cost of everything ... we're fighting for the need to survive."
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Henry Smardo and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at apruiz@asu.edu and follow @andiruiz2405 on X.
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Andi Ruiz is a politics reporter at the State Press dedicated to serving her community with truth and honesty in her reporting. She has been working in broadcast and news since high school and was recently an anchor at The Cut Network during her first year at Cronkite. She is going into her second year at ASU as a Barrett Honors student studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in political science.
