Oberlin students protest mass 'union-busting' layoffs in front of College General Faculty Meeting (VIDEO, UPDATED)

OBERLIN — Students chanted "union busting is disgusting" on all three floors in Oberlin College's King Building, protesting Wednesday in response to a campuswide email sent out a day earlier by Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar detailing the layoff of 108 employees. The protest was led by student organizations Oberlin Beyond Austerity, Student Labor Action Coalition and Oberlin Democratic Socialists, with other organizations in attendance. "These are the people who cook our food, who clean our homes, who care for us when we're sick. They are often the first people we see in the morning," said protest organizer Matt Kinsella-Walsh. Fourth-year student and protest supporter Riley Calcagno described some of the workers as being surrogate family members. When speaking about one cafeteria worker, Calcagno said "Matt is so kind to me. We're friends on Facebook and he's even come to see me play music." Calcagno also talked about how the custodial worker who cleaned the dorm his freshman year made him feel welcome and gave students congratulatory cards at the end of the semester. The protest was organized quickly after Ambar notified the United Auto Workers on Tuesday that it would begin contracting outside vendors for dining and custodial services, which would put 108 full-time dining and custodial employees out of a job. Students lined up outside the general faculty meeting, where faculty were being briefed on what will happen with the workers. In the email, Ambar noted that the changes could "save a critical $1 million a year in the operational costs of the dining program, and potentially another $1 million or more a year in custodial services." Erik Villar, a union representative for the Oberlin College employees, said the layoff decision was made in bad faith, he said, with no input from the union. "It's wrong for them to take this route because they're putting dollars over family. They're not thinking about the people who've been here 40 years," he said. Al Fleming, a plumber who has been with the union for 24 years, said he's not worried about finding a new job, or even a higher-paying one. He said his union has his back. "If there's a problem with the wages we negotiated, why aren't they looking at their lawyers and administrators instead of us? Change starts at the top," he said. Lu Zucker, a 2019 graduate who attended the protest Wednesday, said the students and UAW want to keep people employed with livable wages and appropriate benefits. "Oberlin College is prioritizing money over workers' rights, therefore, human rights," Zucker said. Jason Hawk of the Oberlin News-Tribune contributed to this report and can be reached at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com. Contact Brookie Madison at 440-329-7148 or bmadison@chroniclet.com.