By Ben Lauren PZ ’25

Circling the entrances of Pitzer College’s McConnell Dining Hall on Monday, Nov. 25, students organized by the Claremont Student-Worker Alliance (CSWA) picketed for hours, once again calling on the school to rehire former dining services worker Adan Campos. 

Monday’s boycott was the third called by CSWA this month, following a protest during Pitzer’s Family Weekend from Nov. 8 through 10, and a second the following weekend. The actions come in response to Campos’ continued fight to return to Pitzer, allegedly facing an unfair hiring process since his termination earlier this year.

In a Nov. 25 Instagram post announcing the boycott, CSWA explained that when Pitzer students swipe into other dining halls, Pitzer has to pay that school the full price of the meal; therefore, if students from the other 5Cs aren’t eating Pitzer, one meal can be a serious financial hit to them.

“By costing [Pitzer] money, we let them know we’re not going to let them keep making the same excuses over and over again,” CSWA wrote in the Nov. 25 post. “Let’s show them what community looks like!”

While this boycott only targeted one meal at McConnell, during the prior two, CSWA asked the 5C community to not use meal swipes or flex dollars anywhere at Pitzer including The Pit Stop and Shakedown Cafés.

While a CSWA representative who spoke to the Outback following a delegation on Nov. 11 acknowledged complaints the picketers received during Family Weekend from community members who missed meals at Pitzer, they believed believes that by refusing to meet with CSWA in good faith — referencing an unsuccessful meeting with Pitzer Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer Laura Schaefer — Pitzer administration has forced them to escalate.

“We’ve played [Pitzer’s] game for a while now,” the CSWA representative said. “We’ve actually met with Laura herself, and that went absolutely nowhere. So we wanted to hit [Family Weekend], an event that would have a lot of eyes on it, and we also had a parent join the picket line.”

In an email to The Outback, Pitzer’s Assistant Vice President of College Communications Wendy Shattuck stated that the college declined to comment on the boycotts at this time.

Meanwhile, the CSWA student added that while some students and their families may have been uncomfortable by the initial boycott, it’s critical that they understand why CSWA is doing this and who they’re doing it for.

“Remember that people like Adan are the ones making [Family Weekend] run; they’re the ones making that delicious food,” the CSWA representative said. “Think about the people who are doing this labor for you, who are actively sustaining this college and who are sustaining these events.”

Additionally, they stated that CSWA provided families with templates on how to receive refunds for their meals during the weekend, which they claimed some did. Pitzer declined to comment on this allegation as well.

And according to Krasi Staykov PO ’25, who picketed on Monday, these boycotts are working. He stated CSWA has been successful in applying pressure to the college, citing a nearly empty McConnell and alleging Pitzer administrators were regularly patrolling the boycott.

“We’re hearing Pitzer is communicating to parents, communicating to students, [and] reaching out to union representatives out of concern about this picket,” Staykov said. “To us, that’s another indication that this is definitely on their radar. They’re feeling the pressure, and they’re moving towards rehiring Adan.”

Staykov described the power behind boycotting, referencing CSWA’s previous victories fighting for the rehiring of the “PZ3,” Stephanie Smith, Alexis Ongpoy and Kevin Ayala, three former dining services workers Pitzer and its catering service Bon Appétit Management Company initially terminated in alleged retaliation for union organizing. Following delegations, demonstrations, and boycotts organized by CSWA during the spring 2023 semester, all three workers were offered new positions at Pitzer, albeit with some issues during the rehiring process.

He also brought up Jose “Pepe” Vázquez and Gregorio Reyes, two custodial workers who Pitzer fired on June 2, 2023 after they took an old couch donated to ReRoom, where Pitzer students can donate unwanted items and furniture at the end of the year. Both Vázquez and Reyes were rehired one month later after lengthy discussions between Pitzer and UNITE HERE! Local 11, the union that represents Pitzer’s workers.

“We know that Pitzer is feeling the pressure, and we also know that they’re going to act like nothing is going to happen,” Staykov said. “So even though it can be tricky to continue, we’re really encouraging folks to come out to the pickets and to boycott whenever we’re calling one because the only way we can win is through sustained pressure.”

Still, with Thanksgiving break just two days after Monday’s boycott and the end of the semester just around the corner, Staykov remains confident that their efforts are rapidly making progress and their fight will continue.

“Based on the turnout that we had today, people are still feeling really committed and really strongly about Adan, so we have no plans to slow down despite the fact that we’re going into the end of the semester,” Staykov said. “We know that we have the momentum to keep the pressure up. We know that this is affecting Pitzer, so we intend to just continue the fight as long as it takes to bring Adan back.”