open letter<\/a> to university leadership organized through the American Association of University Professors.\u00a0<\/p>\nWhitehouse said the letter received signatures from over 100 professors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lewis said the campaign sought to establish a foundation for continued organizing and greater worker influence in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t just win a contract,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cWe wanted to change everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Workers reflect on the campaign\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sodexo employees who participated in the campaign said the tentative agreement brought relief after months of uncertainty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tanya Edgar, who works at Lehigh through Sodexo, described the emotional weight of the negotiations lifted after hearing the agreement had been reached. Another worker recalled telling coworkers about the news first thing in the morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dorian Milliron, a Sodexo worker involved in the campaign, said her motivation was to secure dignity and respect for all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here because I was fighting for our dignity, respect and human rights, which we all deserve,\u201d Milliron said. \u201cI\u2019m fighting for everybody.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Milliron also thanked attendees who supported the workers throughout the effort. She said the campaign wouldn\u2019t have succeeded without their involvement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Evan Lempke, administrative coordinator of Creative Inquiry, said he received a text message announcing the agreement, which made Wednesday one of the best days of his year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just one more step to human rights and rectifying centuries of oppression, but there\u2019s still a lot more work to be done,\u201d Lempke said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018The work doesn\u2019t begin until you win\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although Wednesday\u2019s gathering marked a celebration, organizers said the campaign\u2019s next phase will depend on ratification and enforcement of the contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mike Kaibaum, an organizing director at Unite Here, said negotiating a first contract presents challenges because workers and the employer must establish terms without an existing agreement at that workplace to use as a model.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe work doesn\u2019t begin until you win the collective bargaining agreement,\u201d Kaibaum said. \u201cBecause then we have to enforce the contract.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also said that a contract\u2019s provisions must be put into practice to ensure workers receive the rights and protections they establish.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Lehigh\u2019s Sodexo employees, the immediate next step is the Nov. 5 ratification vote. If workers approve the agreement, the focus will shift toward implementing its provisions and ensuring the negotiated terms are upheld.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At this time, details of the ratification have not been specified.<\/p>\n
Lewis also said Sodexo employees at Moravian University, DeSales University and Northampton Community College are scared that organizing won\u2019t lead to meaningful results.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of fear on other campuses,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cThey\u2019re afraid. They would vote against their own best interests out of fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he has hope that the Lehigh agreement would give those workers a concrete example of what collective action can accomplish.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Organizers described the contract as a starting point for broader efforts to improve working conditions and build worker power throughout the Lehigh Valley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first contract,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cBut hopefully one of many more.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What was scheduled to be a protest turned into a celebration Wednesday as Lehigh University Sodexo employees, students,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[5451,153,155,154,7118,7119,1197,295],"class_list":["post-317111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-5-minute-read","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-campus-services","tag-dining","tag-feature","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}