Immigrant workers to walk off the job and join rallies on Inauguration Day

BOSTON, MA—Dining hall workers at Northeastern University will walk off the job during lunch service at 12:00 noon today, January 20, to join demonstrations in Boston of President-Elect Donald Trump’s Inauguration. Workers will return to work at the start of the morning shifts on Saturday.

The strike is inspired by the guiding principles of the workers’ union, UNITE HERE Local 26. “Our American Principles” includes calls to stand with immigrant families and in support of measures that provide better jobs. The principles are as follows:

We reconfirm our commitment to diversity and equality for all – a source of strength.

We respect one another’s race, ethnicity, gender, religion and sexual orientation.

We believe that wherever we were born or however we came to America, we all belong here.

We therefore call on our employers to join us in publicly demanding that our country’s leaders:

• Uphold and expand DACA & DAPA to honor immigrant dreamers and their families
• Make our workplaces sanctuaries for all by keeping ICE out unless they have a warrant
• Reject registries of people living in the United States
• Reject efforts to undermine the right to bargain collectively for a livable income

“We call on our country’s leaders and our employers to join with us in these American principles,” said UNITE HERE Local 26 President Brian Lang. “As the dining hall workers at Northeastern demonstrate today, we will remain steadfast and united.”

Local 26 is asking all of its employers in Boston and Cambridge to sign on to the principles.

“We are striking today for our families, communities, and the country,” said Angela Bello, a 9-year food service employee at Northeastern University. “There is power in our unity and we are here to stay.”