Protesters who took over the University Center cafeteria on May 1 announced on May 17 via their Facebook page that they are transitioning to “summer hours,” and will no longer be staying in the cafeteria overnight.
The announcement came five days after the Communist Student Group, which was responsible for organizing and leading the initial occupation, announced that they, along with the Maoist Communist Group, officially withdrew from the occupation on Saturday, May 12.
The groups did not announce the withdrawal on May 12 “at the request of the remaining occupiers,” according to their joint statement entitled, “Victory for the Camp of the Cafeteria Workers at the New School,” which was also released on Tuesday.
In the 1700-word document, CSG wrote that “the main demand of the cafeteria workers was met,” referring to the university’s decision to rehire them as workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 100.
The statement also asserts that, “It was concentrated popular force alone that led to victory for the cafeteria workers.”
Though occupiers will no longer have a 24-hour presence in the cafeteria, said Morgan Smith, a demonstrator also studying philosophy at NSSR, “the cafeteria will still serve as a space for worker organizing, events and talks relevant to our remaining demands and organizing efforts.”
May 17 marked just over two weeks since student demonstrators occupied the University Center cafeteria, with the occupation overlapping with summer break by one day, as well as graduation ceremonies underway on campus.
On May 11, the university announced that their agreement between the institution and UNITE HERE was “approved by [the] cafeteria workers and is effective immediately” and reiterated “commitments on the part of the university: to offer jobs to the cafeteria workers, recognize UNITE HERE Local 100 as their bargaining representative, work with UNITE HERE to negotiate a new bargaining agreement, and to ensure that the workers’ benefits are continued while a new agreement is negotiated.”
In the days before the occupation wound down, the university repeatedly requested that the occupiers leave the cafeteria. The university sent their requests via email to The New School community, escalating their language in their most recent update.
“The continued occupation of the cafeteria, and the disregard it shows for the greater New School community, is unacceptable,” the university administration wrote on May 15. “We urge those who continue to occupy the cafeteria to leave now so that the cafeteria can once again be used by the New School community.”
Over the course of their protest, the occupiers have been visited by such high-profile individuals as Yanis Varoufakis, the former Greek Minister of Finance until his resignation in 2015, David Graeber, an anthropologist and anarchist, Hawk Newsome, the president of Black Lives Matter’s Greater New York chapter, and Richard Wolff, a Marxian economist and New School professor, who led a roundtable discussion about co-ops.
Occupiers also sent out an email to faculty on May 16, encouraging them to show support for their cause, as well for SENS-UAW. SENS-UAW represents graduate student workers and conducted a 4-day strike at the beginning of May after negotiations stalled on a new contract.
“It is imperative that negotiations continue until the administration’s join agreement with the union becomes a contract that meets all the workers’ demands,” the petition reads.
As of May 16, 62 faculty members had signed the petition, Smith said.
The protesters who are sustaining the part-time occupation have released a third iteration of their list of demands.
Because the cafeteria workers’ contract expires on July 1, protestors are concerned that workers will lose their healthcare benefits during the gap between the expiration and when their new contract is finalized, and “are demanding that the administration hire them immediately,” according to Smith.
In their May 11 email, the university said one of their commitments in the agreement approved by the cafeteria workers was to “ensure that the employees’ benefits are continued while the parties negotiate a new, stand-alone collective bargaining agreement.”
They are also calling for the creation of a committee to oversee a “democratic worker-management structure” for the cafeteria to be comprised of Professor Wolff, an elected student representative, an elected worker representative, a UNITE HERE Local 100 representative, and an administration representative.
The demonstrators maintained a Venmo balance of about one thousand dollars in the final days of the occupation, which they used to purchase things like “poster supplies,” “coffee beans and hot cups” and “socks and snacks,” according to their Venmo page. Smith said the Venmo account, which was created in January, is “not attached to a bank account,” and that donations are used to reimburse occupiers who are sent to purchase supplies. Smith confirmed that someone from inside the occupation funded their “promoted” Facebook posts.
Also on May 17, Senior Vice President for Student Success Michelle Relyea, sent out an email message to students, just hours after the CSG announcement, with an update on the student meal plan, known as Dining Dollars Plus.
The email announced that students would be refunded the Dining Dollars Plus they have spent since the occupation began. On May 1, students’ Dining Dollars were converted to Dining Dollars Plus in response to the occupation. The university will also refund them an additional 10% of whatever they spent, to thank students for their “patience and understanding” during the occupation, Relyea said.
Dining Dollars, which are different than Dining Dollars Plus, can only be used at the University Center cafeteria. Dining Dollars Plus can be used at 16 different off-campus food merchants in addition to seven retail locations.
University spokesperson Amy Malsin confirmed that students who don’t owe a balance on their meal plan will, “receive a refund via the method of payment originally used to purchase Dining Dollars Plus.”
Occupiers have taken home their personal belongings and returned university furniture, in addition to removing their array of posters, which Smith said will be sent to the Interference Archive in Brooklyn. The archive explores “the relationship between cultural production and social movements” by collecting things from “social movements” that are created by their participants.
Two signs, however, were left on the doors and walls of the now-vacant cafeteria. One, a pink poster in the shape of a key, reads, “To the workers, key to the caf.” The other, a large white poster, is a letter addressed to the cafeteria workers.
“There is some chance that some boss will show up and try to say that this place belongs to them,” it reads. “We’re sure that you can set them straight, but if you ever need some help, just give us a call.”
Photo by Orlando Mendiola
