Campus dining workers gathered outside Norfolk State University’s dining hall Thursday afternoon. Some were on their lunch break, while others were waiting to clock in.
Spirits were high.
“When we fight!” union organizer Hannah Kane called out.
“We win!” the group responded.
The workers are moving to unionize and urged their employer Thompson Hospitality, which the university contracts for dining services, not to stand in the way.
“What's happening today is the workers are going to their company to demand that Thompson Hospitality agree to a quick and fair process for them to be able to exercise their right to form a union free of retaliation and intimidation,” Kane said Thursday. Kane is the organizing director for UNITE HERE Local 23, the chapter of the labor union that includes Virginia and represents hospitality workers.
Dining workers at Virginia State University outside of Richmond – also a Historically Black University – did the same thing on Monday.
Marcella Greene led the group of her colleagues in Norfolk. She started working for Thompson Hospitality at NSU a few months ago, and she said she hasn’t been impressed.
“Some people retire, no pension,” she said. “We're going through it check-to-check, and then we see disrespect along the way. No. We need a change.”
A supermajority of Greene’s co-workers agreed and joined the movement to form a union, Kane said.
Campus dining workers at both universities say low wages make paying for electric bills and routine car maintenance a struggle and affording health insurance impossible. Irregular schedules and unpredictable job duties have contributed to high turnover rates.
More than 1,500 dining workers across Virginia have already organized unions with UNITE HERE. Workers at Virginia Commonwealth University were first in 2022, followed by workers at William and Mary, James Madison University, Longwood University, Old Dominion University and the University of Mary Washington.
The workers at NSU and VSU would be the first group of dining workers to unionize at Virginia HBCUs.
Sequoia Ali was part of the unionizing process at ODU three years ago and showed up to support the workers at NSU. She said having a union improves working conditions.
“The end goal is to make sure that the generations to come have fair wages, affordable insurance, be able to take care of themselves and have sustainable life,” Ali said.
Greene said she’ll know they succeeded if she and her colleagues can get the peace of mind that comes with those assurances.
