DePaulia
The
Volume #106 | Issue #3 | Sept. 27, 2021 | depauliaonline.com
Last call
In final State of the University, faculty pushes back on Esteban’s assessment of progress
PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL UNIVERSITY/RANDALL SPRIGGS
President A. Gabriel Esteban speaks to university faculty and staff in the School of Music building in Lincoln Park on Thursday, Sept. 23. This was Esteban’s last State of the University address.
By Nika Schoonover Print Managing Editor
DePaul President A. Gabriel Esteban addressed faculty and staff at the State of the University address on Thursday morning, offering messages of hope and progress after the pandemic disrupted a year and a half of university operations. After his speech, questions from faculty and staff revealed that the repercussions of the pandemic left lingering concerns about morale and enduring burnout. “We’ve all been through a lot this last year and a half,” Esteban opened. “And I can’t tell you how pleased and happy we
were to see students back on campus.” The address was held in DePaul’s School of Music and included a livestream for those who couldn’t attend in person. Due to restricted technological capabilities, however, virtual attendees could not participate in the question and answer portion of the event. When Esteban assumed his role as president in 2017, he released his six-year plan for the university. Now that he will be stepping down in June 2022, he assured DePaul that he will stay committed to the progress of the university for the duration of his term. “We have a lot left to do together. We
have made great progress in our strategic plan,” Esteban said. “And we have to keep the momentum going.” It’s been three years since Esteban’s strategic plan, Grounded in Mission, was implemented and he highlighted a few points from each of the six areas: mission, diversity, student success, access, academic excellence and fiscal strength. DePaul expanded its diversity, equity and inclusion training, known as the BUILD training initiative. This year, 867 faculty and staff participated in the training, a 547 percent increase from the previous year. DePaul also launched Future Forward
last year with 350 students initially involved in the program. “It’s an intentional support model that engages peers, student mentors, professional staff and resources that helps students think about their future,” Esteban said. The program is designed to increase the student retention rate and will be expanded this year to help sophomores who are new to campus. For freshman, Esteban noted that DePaul will try to extend the Chicago Quarter mentorship program relationship beyond
See ESTEBAN, page 4
Chartwells workers vote to strike, demand better pay By Josephine Stratman Asst. News Editor
Isabel Avila started her job as a DePaul food service worker 18 years ago, when her two children were still in elementary school. As a single mother, she worked hard to support her kids as they grew up. Now — although she still works full time for DePaul — her kids have to support her, instead. “I can’t pay bills or rent,” Avila said. “My son has to help me, because I don’t make enough… It is absolutely wrong.” Underpaid and often overworked and left without acceptable healthcare, Avila and nearly one hundred other DePaul dining workers took to the ballot box on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to demand better labor conditions and end a two-yearlong fight with their parent company to
approve their last card: A strike. Ninety-two percent of dining employees voted to authorize a strike against Chartwells, the university’s food service provider. A day earlier, employees at Northwestern also voted for a strike with a 95 percent ‘yes’ vote. The strike will take effect in October if their contract is not renegotiated. Food service workers at DePaul are subcontracted from Chartwells, a division of Compass Group, which is a global service company that operates in 50 countries and employs around 600,000 people worldwide. According to DePaul Chartwells employees, they’ve been trying to negotiate a new contract with the Compass Group for around two years. Workers say that since their last contract expired, they have not received any raises and most are paid
minimum wage and face inconsistent insurance plans. On average, Chartwells workers only make $25,033 per year. The poverty line for a family of four is $25,750. According to MIT’s living wage calculator, the required annual income before taxes to live in Chicago is $33,438 for an adult living alone. Unite Here Local 1 reported that, of survey respondents, 88 percent of Chartwells employees are people of color. “Let me put it this way,” Jose Beltran, 48, a Chartwells employee said. “We’ve been working here for 15 years, and we only get 15 dollars [an hour].” The minimum-wage pay Beltran receives has put him in financial insecurity over the years. “Sometimes we work two jobs,” Beltran said. “I have five kids, and I’ve had to work two jobs over the years. This is a problem.”
JOSEPHINE STRATMAN| THE DEPAULIA
A Unite Here Local 1 sticker on the doors of the World of Worship Church.
DePaul President A. Gabriel Esteban said that, while he feels for the Chartwells employees, he doesn’t have a place in the labor dispute.
See CHARTWELLS, page 7