Social justice, even on campus

Last week I met with an organizer of the local worker's union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299, which represents service and patient workers of the UC campuses. Her name was Katherine, and I was surprised by how eager she was to meet with me and give me information about her work. Since it was my first project for my covenant this year, I was more than slightly nervous, but within the hour I talked with her, my nervousness disappeared and I was able to gain a true perspective of the plights of UC workers and how certain issues were being handled.

Katherine mentioned she had been an advocate for social justice ever since she could remember, growing up in a Christian family which strongly advocated social justice. Her personal history was very colorful yet disorganized, only coming together to a central point when she decided to focus on worker's rights about 10 years ago. As Katherine told her story, I wondered what it would be like to grow up in an age where young people were so politically charged to make a difference. I think her statements hit me in a significant way as I reflected on everything she implied; advocating worker's rights was to a larger extent advocating diversity, not just in the workplace but also in the classrooms.

According to my research of AFSCME through their website, I concluded that the greatest issue of concern to the union was the low poverty wages UC service and patient workers were receiving; Katherine agreed. To help me put it into perspective, she gave me some statistics. For example, an average service worker working at UC Berkeley earns about $22,000 a year ($10 an hour), which is barely enough to support one person, let alone whole families. My first immediate thought was how something like this could be allowed to happen? Was it an external factor like the university's budget cuts? Katherine emphasized that the money wasn't really the problem. Rather, it was a question of priorities — the University had chosen to overlook the service workers' poverty wages regardless of funds.

Katherine seemed interested in my opinion as a UC Berkeley student and, in a larger sense, the new generation. I was embarrassed to tell her that I was actually unaware of these issues (such as the poverty wages) up to this point and had definitely taken the UC workers for granted. She smiled and understood my point of view. Students weren't necessarily uninterested in the issues but just lacked the information to make a definite stand. We ended our interview in a hopeful note that the students will become strong advocates for worker's rights by becoming more informed about the issues, especially since these workers work for the students.

My meeting with Katherine was an eye-opening experience as I realized that despite the shining reputation of the University, there are fundamental flaws within its system that are kept hidden and largely ignored. It challenged and prompted me to reflect on how I as a Christian can and should make a difference in these kinds of social justice issues. All the corruption, drama, and issues do not only occur in Washington; rather, it also exists in the very community that I live and rely on for my future. This is definitely an issue I will consider with greater significance and I hope others will join me in my view.