Cornell dining workers go on strike as students return to campus

Dining staff at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., announced a strike last week after failing to reach negotiations with the university over a labor contract.

The workers, which are represented by United Auto Workers (UAW) 2300 and include dining staff, custodians and more, are asking for a salary increase. According to the union, wages for most employees at the university are less than $22 per hour while the school’s endowment has increased by 39% to just under $10 billion and tuition. Meanwhile, workers’ buying power has fallen by 5%.

“We’re the heart, soul and backbone of Cornell. Students and faculty depend on us to make the campus run, but we haven’t seen pay raises that keep up. In fact, we’re falling behind,” said UAW Local 2300 President Christine Johnson in a statement. “We’re united and ready to join the stand up movement if we need to so we can get our fair share.” 

In response, Cornell’s Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Christine Lovely and Interim Provost John Siciliano shared in a post on Cornell’s website that a majority of the school’s endowment is restricted by donor contracts and can only be used for specific purposes. In addition, the school does draw from the endowment each year for expenses including financial aid, facilities maintenance and upgrades, academic programs and more.  

“In fiscal year 2023, the endowment provided $386 million toward these kinds of expenses — money that would otherwise have had to come from sources like tuition and housing and dining charges,” the post states.

Most recently, the school offered employees a 17.5% increase in wages compounded over four years of the contract and a change in time promotion to give an immediate 10.3% wage increase to the lowest paid employees. UAW 2300 rejected the offer.

The university says it will continue contract negotiations in good faith and has implemented contingency plans as students return to campus.

“It is important to emphasize our commitment to respect and safety during this time, for both our employees in the UAW bargaining unit and the entire Cornell community,” Lovely and Siciliano wrote. “The University has implemented plans to ensure that those who wish to engage in their usual campus activities can do so. Likewise, we respect the right of our service and maintenance workers to lawfully and peacefully strike.”