ASUCLA workers grateful for new benefits A few days ago, one
hundred food service workers finally won our fight for better pay,
good benefits and a union contract under AFSCME Local 3299. We are
employees of the Associated Students of UCLA and work at the
Treehouse, Cooperage, LuValle Commons and other food courts on
campus. The victory means different things for each of us, but the
raises and benefits we won will make a big difference for everyone.
For the first time our families will have health care benefits
sufficient to provide good medical care for our children. We used
to earn minimum wage, and life was very difficult, but this victory
will make life a little better for families like ours. We are also
very grateful for all the support we received over the last year
from students, faculty and political leaders. First, the students
cared enough about us to get involved and support our fight for
justice. Students were always at our rallies, meetings with
management and planning sessions. We also want to thank members of
the faculty who supported us by writing letters to management and
opinion pieces in the Daily Bruin. We received a lot of help from
community leaders and political leaders like Antonio Villaraigosa,
who came to visit us. They told us they supported our fight for
justice and would stand behind us. We also learned something about
ourselves. For years we had to be quiet about the problems we
faced. We didn’t speak up because we were afraid we would
lose our jobs. Now we know that by sticking together, and with lots
of support, we can win a better life. By Luz Real and
Alfredo Gomez ASUCLA food services workers
Students’ priorities ignored without student vote In the
article “College-aged voter turnout below Others,”
Chris Neal is absolutely right when he says students need to
“express their collective needs” by voting in the next
election. Politicians do not cater to the youth of America because
students are not the ones that get them elected. Only 20 percent of
young people between the ages of 18 and 24 voted in national
elections and only 5 percent for local elections, less than half
that of older voters. Statistics like these have to change if we
want to get more money for education, affordable housing options
and reasonably priced and accessible transportation options. With
millions of youths across the state and thousands living in our
district we have the power to demand and receive all these things
if we go to the polls on Nov. 5 and speak our minds. Several
organizations on campus are committed to making a huge voter
turn-out at UCLA a reality. The Youth Vote Coalition, CALPIRG and
members of USAC have made this a priority. Organizations like these
are making the process of voting easier for students. So why not
get to the polls, take five minutes of your life, and speak your
mind. Mark Thornton Second-year, history Better
ways to bring students together than alcohol I wanted to share
some of my thoughts about the article “Student
association considers allowing a pub in Ackerman.” First off,
I am in complete opposition to the idea of opening up an
alcohol-serving pub on campus. The reasons stated in the
article are quite erroneous, and I think that other options
and approaches to “increasing
student participation and involvement in student life and the
union” can be taken that do not pose the
risk of promoting unhealthy behavior My concerns
originate from several research reports that have
shown external environmental factors,
including pricing and availability of alcohol in the area
surrounding a campus or on campus, that serve to affect
drinking behavior among college students.Â
I am honored and proud to say that I am a
student, staff member, and alumnus of a UC that does not
promote or make available alcoholic beverages to its students and
staff. Having read about allowing a pub saddens me for the
reason that it will send a message to students that alcohol and
student life go hand-in-hand. I am not saying that having a pub
will directly cause or influence student drinking behaviors, but it
will have an indirect impact on attitudes and social norms
regarding the acceptance and tolerance towards college drinking.
Rachel Gonzales Social Welfare Ph.D student