Since the first day of new student orientation, United Auto Workers Local 2300 workers have been on strike, withholding essential labor from Cornell’s dining, building care and grounds maintenance.
The UAW Local 2300, which represents more than 1,000 Cornell workers, announced their strike on Aug. 18 at 10 p.m. Negotiations stretched on over the summer and have stalled at numerous points, with pay being a major point of contention. The UAW has accused Cornell of not paying workers a fair hourly salary.
According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology living wage calculator, which was last updated in February 2024, a single adult in Ithaca must earn $24.64 an hour at a full-time schedule to make a living wage, $43.34 to support one child and $56.85 to support two children. The living wage decreases in most cases for two adults with or without children.
Union workers at Cornell earn hourly wages ranging from $19.17 to $35.51, based on a tiered system. The tiers rank from S01 to S12, with higher grades on the pay scale indicating higher wages. Most food service workers and custodians are Grade S02 and make $20.03 per hour. After three years, their wage increases to $20.85 an hour.
Many workers told The Sun they are barely scraping by.
While UAW workers are on strike, the University has tried to enlist non-union employees, retirees and temporary workers to fill in for staff shortages.
Workers have been picketing daily from sunrise to sunset in various locations around Ithaca, including A-Lot and Triphammer Mall. Vehicles passing the protestors, including TCAT Busses and Cornell-affiliated trucks, can often be heard honking in support.
The Sun has been closely following this strike, speaking with the people behind the picket line. These are their stories.
‘The Heart and Soul of Cornell‘
David Sepulveda, famously known around campus as “Happy Dave” or “Dancing Dave,” has been serving the Cornell community for 44 years, greeting diners daily at Okenshields on Ho Plaza. Generations of students recognize Sepulveda for his upbeat attitude.
“Because of my happy disposition, I try to have a positive attitude when I come to work, and people pick up on that,” Sepulveda told The Sun.
UAW Local 2300 gained national recognition in 1980. It was a long fight to get ratified, Sepulveda remembered. Sepulveda recalled being part of the union’s organizing from the very beginning, helping to start a strike that lasted two and a half weeks that year.
“The union was young at that point. A lot of people were scared because they were uncertain about what the future held for them,” Sepulveda said. “It’s come a long way since 1980.”
Today, Sepulveda is back on the picket line. “In order for us to get what we need, we have to go out on a strike,” Sepulveda said.
Over his years at Cornell, Sepulveda feels that management has largely treated him and other workers unfairly.
Currently, as a S02 door checker hired before 1997, Sepulveda makes $24.41 per hour.
“We’re the heart and soul of Cornell,” Sepulveda said. “Without the workers, there wouldn’t be any essential services provided to students.”
‘We Do Feel Guilty‘
The UAW Local 2300 strike started at a time when thousands of students were moving back to Cornell in anticipation of the fall semester. What is usually an all-hands-on-deck week lost a significant portion of the workforce.
HeidiJo Gunn has been working for Cornell for five years. Most recently, she has worked in building care for the three newest dorms — Hu Shih Hall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Barbara McClintock Halls.
Gunn takes pride in providing a clean and safe environment on each floor and tries to learn the names of each of the students.
“We know what they like, what they don’t like. I always got to know my students,” Gunn said.
While on strike, Gunn expressed regret over not being able to support the students.
“I wish I was there to help them, to show them where their rooms are, to get to know them and their parents as well,” Gunn said. “I cried because I wasn’t going to be there, because [instead] I was fighting for a good cause.”
Gunn also scorned Cornell for feeding students “frozen food and canned food” and “letting their bathrooms go to waste” all the while saying they “care for them.”
Amber Garrity, a cook at Risley Dining Room, has been at Cornell for a decade. She loves serving hundreds of students each day and is proud to serve gluten-free meals.
“I love hearing … how much [students] love our food,” Garrity said. “They feel safe to come and eat because they know that we’re following protocol to keep their food allergen-free.”
Instead of extensive menus that cater to diverse diets, including gluten-free, kosher, halal and vegan, students are being provided with much more limited options throughout the strike.
First-years and residents of the West Campus House System, who are mandated to purchase unlimited meal swipe plans, have been limited to only one boxed lunch for some meals and dining halls have significantly reduced their service.
“You have freshman students coming in who are expecting the number two ranked in the Princeton Review for food and … instead feel like [they’re] at summer camp,” Garrity said.
Mary Watson is a food service worker at Morrison Dining, one of the busiest dining halls on North Campus.
“We do feel guilty,” Watson said. “If we had a fair wage, we definitely would be [at work].”
Watson asked the students to consider the stress and difficulty Cornell workers face every day. “Just be respectful of our decisions on why we’re doing this,” Watson said.
For students who are looking to help support the striking workers, Watson recommended joining the picket line. She also asked students to email or call the administration.
‘I’m Living Paycheck to Paycheck’
On the picket line, almost every person The Sun has talked to was or knew a Cornell employee who had to work a second job. Many workers commute 30 minutes to an hour because they cannot afford to live in Ithaca.
Jeff Fluellen is a dishwasher at Flora Rose House on West Campus. His shift spans from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. He cleans thousands of dishes every night — and the job is always short-staffed, he said.
Fluellen’s girlfriend also works nights at Cornell. Due to their schedules, Fluellen said he rarely sees his family, only seeing his kids when he takes them to the bus in the morning and missing after-school events.
“[Cornell] wants you to forget that you have a family. They want you to be here,” Fluellen said. “Once you start working here and you’ve got a family, you’re never going to see them.”
Even after the long hours and significant sacrifices, the pay is hardly enough to get by.
“I’m nearly down to five bucks,” Fluellen said. “You cannot afford to work here and be able to pay rent.”
S02 dish machine operators make $20.03 per hour as new hires, and are eligible for a $0.82 hourly raise after three years.
When Garrity first started at Risley, she felt secure in her job. But now workers have become “expendable” and “replaceable,” she said.
S06 grade workers make $22.73 hourly when hired, and $23.81 after three years. Garrity told The Sun that pay was barely enough to get by.
“I’m just making ends meet,” Garrity said. “I’m living paycheck to paycheck. I had savings at one time, and my vehicle broke down, so I had to bust into my savings.”
With the ongoing strike, UAW Local 2300 workers are provided a weekly $500 strike assistance by the UAW and are asked to attend two four-hour long picket sessions a week.
For workers like Fluellen, this has allowed him to spend more time with his children and stay involved in their daily lives, something he was unable to do when working at Cornell.
“The kids are ecstatic,” Fluellen said, adding that his children hope the strike doesn’t end. “It’s the family time that they don’t get normally.”
‘This University Would Be Nothing‘
Aliyah Panahi is a S09 gardener for Central Campus and makes $26.02 per hour. Four months into the role, she finds joy in keeping the campus clean and beautiful.
“In the weeks and months leading up to commencement and reunion, we work a ton of overtime,” Panahi said. “I love it personally, but it is physically demanding and exhausting.”
Instead of weeding, mulching and cleaning up campus, Panahi has been on the picket line with her fellow workers almost every day so far, often leading chants.
“The grounds look bad,” Panahi said. “Come winter, [paths] will not be plowed or shoveled.”
Despite watching the campus go unmaintained, Panahi is firmly standing behind her decision to strike.
“Most people are doing this because they feel very passionately about that contract, and they want a better life for themselves and their families,” Panahi said.
Adam Brigham is a maintenance mechanic. His usual duties include maintaining building mechanical equipment around Cornell, including air filters and HVAC systems.
“When students move in, a lot of dirt and dust is kicked up,” Brigham said. “I’m pretty sure the filters are due on West Campus, right now,” Brigham added. “We’re not there to do it. So who will?”
“We are the heart and soul of this university as are the students, too,” Brigham said. “Without the essential workers and without the students, this university would be nothing.”
Clarification, Aug. 28, 11:11 a.m.: This article has been updated to utilize a more recent and comprehensive living wage study, calculated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology instead of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.