Amid United Auto Workers Local 2300’s strike, which includes Cornell dining workers, students have been forced to navigate the first few days of school with significantly reduced dining options.
The University announced on Wednesday that — after two weeks of strikes and four months of bargaining — they had reached a tentative agreement with UAW. But UAW members will remain on strike until the new labor contract is ratified through a vote early next week. If the tentative agreement is approved, UAW members will return to work on Sept. 3, according to the University’s statement.
Until then, the University will be forced to continue improvising as it scrambles to feed its students. In place of normal dining operations, the University has resorted to a boxed lunch system in which students use a swipe to pick up a pre-made lunch from dining halls. For breakfast and dinner, a limited menu is available at select dining halls, where students can fill a take-out box and eat either there or at another cafeteria.
For first-year students, the significantly limited dining options are part of their first impression of Cornell.
A big draw for Jimmy Quinlan ’28 to attend Cornell was the quality of its dining — Cornell is consistently ranked in the top 10 for best campus food among all colleges in the country. But the strike has changed that perception.
“Obviously if you’re out here [at the dining halls], the food has not been what it normally is because of the strike,” Quinlan said. However, Quinlan was sympathetic to the underlying cause of the strike.
“Growing up in, like, not the highest income family of all time, I totally understand where they’re coming from. You know, I think the workers deserve fair treatment and all that.” Quinlan said.
But others have been frustrated by the food quality, long lines and limited hours. When Will Posorske ’28 attempted to get dinner at Morrison Dining Hall on Tuesday, he found that the dining hall was at capacity. As a result, he had to wait in another long line at North Star Dining only to have what he described as a “bad dinner.”
“Yesterday was almost a breaking point for me. It was the most frustrating thing ever,” Posorske said. “I had a test to take. I had a ton of stuff, [and] all I was trying to do is take my food to go and eat real quickly. … And I get it, we’re privileged and lucky to be here, but it’s the strike, dude, it’s the strike,” Posorske said.
As a result of the lackluster on-campus dining options, some students have opted to go to Collegetown for their lunches during the day instead. For Lily Whaling ’28, this excursion takes her about an hour, which on some days is barely enough time for her to get back to class.
This influx of Collegetown customers has inconvenienced those without a meal plan who typically eat off-campus. Law student Michael Spivey grad regularly gets lunch in Collegetown, and said that while lunch typically takes just 15 minutes, he estimates that time is now closer to 30 minutes.
“You can definitely see the difference in the lines, [and] I think a large part of that is the strike,” Spivey said.
While the University’s tentative agreement with UAW has many optimistic that the strike may come to an end, Posorske is worried about how the outcome of the strike will affect his tuition.
“These workers are making well above minimum wage. Yeah, and the students that support it, I’m like, ‘Go you… great activism,’ but if [we] eventually come to an agreement, [it] is gonna jack the tuition prices up. … Tuition is already basically unaffordable for me. That’s why I’m in the army. I can’t afford to pay for full tuition at this school.”
UAW 2300 had been asking for a 25 percent wage increase. There has been no indication from University officials that tuition will rise as a result thus far.
Quinlan, though disappointed by the food options, recognized that the strike is larger than the temporary inconveniences.
“In a way, it’s a very small sacrifice to make a lot of people have livable wages, and I’m still eating, I’m still getting my calories in there,” Quinlan said. “Maybe it’s food I wouldn’t have chosen, [but] that’s okay — there’s greater good than us and our dietary needs.”
Ming DeMers contributed reporting.