By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer
Content warning: mentions of racism and worker abuse.
SFU has contracts with Best Service Pros and Chartwells Canada for cleaning and dining services respectively. Some groups, however, are hoping to change this. The Peak spoke with Cristina Figueroa, Contract Worker Justice @SFU (CWJ) campaign research assistant, about the growing movement to leave these companies and transition to in-house contracts. In-house contracting refers to direct employment as opposed to contracting through third-party companies.
CWJ is “a coalition of SFU workers, faculty, students, and community members fighting to end the outsourcing of food and cleaning services at SFU.” On November 25, 2024, they hosted a rally on the Burnaby campus to continue pushing for this change. “It was fantastic, we had a great turnout. We met in Saywell Hall and had some pizza, and we had speeches and poster making,” said Figueroa.
One speaker at the event was Bridget Barker, the vice president at CUPE 3338, a union that represents “nearly 1,200 members” at SFU. Barker spoke about how “cleaning services are the lowest paid on campus.” Cora Mojica from the Hospital Employees Union was also present, explaining the union’s successful push to end outsourcing. The final speaker was Rohini Arora, member of the Legislative Assembly for Burnaby East, who explained her intention to endorse CWJ and provide support on an “institutional level.”
“The university preaches diversity, inclusion, and being equitable and being helpful, and they don’t treat these people with respect.” — Cristina Figueroa, research assistant, Contract Workers Justice @SFU
The rally then moved to Strand Hall to try to speak with administration. “They weren’t willing to speak with us at that moment, but they promised to meet with [Rohini] at a later date,” Figueroa explained. This is not CWJ’s first interaction with administration. Figueroa said they have “met with the Board of Governors multiple times, written reports,” and are “constantly putting pressure” on administration to listen to them. She said they “brush off” CWJ’s demands. On April 10, 2024, CWJ hosted a similar rally to protest the layoffs of cleaning workers who were mostly “racialized, women, elderly, and immigrants.”
Figueroa said SFU cites their specialization “in intellectual pursuits and academia” as the reason they “don’t have the expertise” to employ food and cleaning staff as in-house workers. “It’s basically an excuse because we know that other universities do provide those services.” UBC and UVic rely on in-house contracts for their food and cleaning services.
In July 2022, SFU announced their decision to become a living wage employer. “A living wage takes into account employees’ total wages and benefits and is a calculation of what a family of four needs to earn to meet its current basic expenses,” reads the SFU press release. The reality of the situation, according to some, is different.
The Peak corresponded with Nate Holers, a campaigner with food service union UNITE HERE Local 40, which represents and advocates for food workers on campus. “SFU’s continued outsourcing of service work perpetuates inequalities for our members that we find completely unacceptable,” he said. “LivingWage BC lists $27.05 as the minimum living wage for Metro Vancouver, while our members at SFU make only $22.60.”
“We are bargaining a new contract this year, and intend to raise the standard for all service workers on campus, regardless of SFU’s decision.” — Nate Holers, campaigner, UNITE HERE Local 40
While food and cleaning workers receive tips, management receives a cut of these tips and the workers still do not make a living wage. “That’s a way that they are sneaky about it,” said Figueroa. “We are bargaining a new contract this year, and intend to raise the standard for all service workers on campus, regardless of SFU’s decision,” said Holers.
Additionally, food and cleaning employees don’t “benefit from the same services as other staff, such as childcare, parking, they don’t even get Wi-Fi on campus,” according to Figueroa. “They don’t get paid breaks, parking discounts, none of that.” According to CBC, anonymous employees also recounted instances of blatant racism, as well as “being told to lay on the floor to scrub toilets, being given inadequate cleaning supplies to combat the coronavirus, and being denied breaks despite an increased workload.”
In a statement to The Peak, SFU said they continue “to implement a living wage for employees who regularly work on our three campuses, whether they are employed directly by the university or by third-party contractors.” They stated that “the living wage program also includes a number of other on-site benefits for contract workers including access to recreation and fitness facilities, library borrowing privileges, and priority access to on-site childcare.”
“The university preaches diversity, inclusion, and being equitable, and being helpful, and they don’t treat these people with respect,” Figueroa added. “It’s rife with racism and sexism and all sorts of worker abuses, and our community couldn’t function without the food and cleaning staff.”
This is an ongoing story that The Peak will continue to cover.
