Local 052 members continue protests against privatized food services at U of C
CALGARY – AUPE Local 052 Anti-Privatization Committee members and other activists took part in one of a series of information pickets of privatized food services facilities at the University of Calgary Thursday evening.
The rotating, random information pickets illustrate the unhappiness of members of the U of C community with the university administration’s decision last April to contract out campus food services.
Local 052 activists plan to continue holding the information pickets from time to time to remind U of C students, staff and faculty that their food services have been contracted out to a private company.
The local’s aim is to make the administration realize that AUPE members do not take privatization of university services lightly and to make companies wishing to take over university services aware that they will face similar action.
In May, members of the local launched a boycott of food services outlets on campus run by Chartwells Educational Dining Services, the private-sector company the university hired to replace its in-house food services department.
Contracting out the U of C’s Food Services department resulted in the loss of approximately 400 union jobs.
Chartwells is a subsidiary of a multinational British-based company, Compass Group PLC.
Chartwells runs the following food-service outlets on the U of C campus:
- Alberta Dining Room: Dining Center – 2nd Floor
- Legacy’s: Dining Center – 1st Floor
- Baron’s Court: Kinesiology
- Coyote Jack’s: Science B
- Club Medibles: Health Science
- First Cup: Social Sciences
- Upper Crust: Social Sciences
- The Big Pita: Murray Fraser Hall
- Wheat Street Deli: Education
- Scurfield Café: Scurfield Hall
- Tim Hortons: MacEwan Student Centre
- Pizza Pizza: MacEwan Student Centre
- Taco Time: MacEwan Student Centre
Local 052 represents approximately 2,800 U of C non-academic employees.
Photo: Members of Local 052 take part in a Nov. 24 information picket of prviatized food service facilities at the University of Calgary.