Upon a special arrangement, the Sodexho Workers representatives were given the opportunity to meet and briefly speak with Former President Bill Clinton following the event. I was allowed to join them and report on their conversation.
The President spoke briefly with the workers and then posed for pictures. During the course of their conversation, he came out in favor of their efforts to become full university employees earning equal pay and equal benefits.
The President spoke briefly with the workers and then posed for pictures. During the course of their conversation, he came out in favor of their efforts to become full university employees earning equal pay and equal benefits.
After the meeting, I spoke with three of the workers.
Kevin Cole who works at Tercero:
The President has been a strong support of labor and worker's rights and social justice. The Sodexho workers also received strong support from Mayor of West Sacramento Christopher Cabaldon, Lt. Governor John Garamendi, Davis City Councilmember Lamar Heystek, Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, and Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nunez.
The opportunity to participate in this and hear the reaction from the Sodexho workers themselves was one of the more moving and inspiring events I have had the fortune of covering during my time working on this blog.
Kevin Cole who works at Tercero:
"We just met the [former] President of the United States. He said that he is going to help us to win this struggle that we're going through. We are so grateful that we met him and got his support in our struggle."Joe Moreno who works at Segundo:
"We're so glad to be here, just be here to shake his hand. I'm very happy to know that he's going to support us in our campaign. More power to us."Esther Jaurez who works at Segundo spoke to me in Spanish:
"I feel very happy to have greeted the former President. I just wanted to ask that you help us and all of our families and friends. I also want to be able to ask for help because I have to go to the doctor, now I have a bill of $45,000 and I don't know how I'm going to be able to pay it. I don't have health insurance and I don't know how to do it. The health insurance is very expensive that they give us."One of the initiatives that the Former President pushed was universal health care. As we see, this is not a novel problem. This lady now has a debt that she will likely never be able to repay because the health care offered by Sodexho was not affordable at over one-quarter of her already meager income per month. Had she been a university employee, she would have been fully covered by the university's health care plan.
The President has been a strong support of labor and worker's rights and social justice. The Sodexho workers also received strong support from Mayor of West Sacramento Christopher Cabaldon, Lt. Governor John Garamendi, Davis City Councilmember Lamar Heystek, Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, and Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nunez.
The opportunity to participate in this and hear the reaction from the Sodexho workers themselves was one of the more moving and inspiring events I have had the fortune of covering during my time working on this blog.
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
