Julian Castro, others call on administrators to pay laid off workers

The former presidential candidate joined Stanford students in calling on Stanford to pay contract workers through June 15

STANFORD » Former Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro and other notable Stanford University alumni joined students on Thursday in pressuring administrators to provide full pay and benefits for about 200 contract workers laid off amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Castro, other alumni and the Students for Workers’ Rights are scratching their heads over Stanford’s delay in fulfilling what they see as a promise that includes contract workers — not just those employed directly by the university, which has a hefty endowment of about $27.7 billion and a $6.8 billion annual budget.

During a virtual press conference held by the Stanford student group on Thursday, activists and alumni called for immediate action from administrators that includes paying workers and extending benefits through June 15, providing 10 percent hazard pay and an additional two weeks paid sick leave.

“To this end, we’re launching a no-donation pledge,” said student activist Nizhoni Begay. “Until Stanford meets these expectations, we pledge to withhold donations to the institution. In every respect that matters, they are Stanford workers and we, as Stanford students, feel an obligation to fight with them so they are treated with the respect they deserve.”

Stanford University did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

About 5,500 people have already signed a petition siding with activist students in asking Stanford to extend its commitment to pay workers through the end of the school year.

So far Stanford has only committed to covering health insurance for 73 facility services staff hired through Boston-based subcontractor UG2 and to covering legal assistance for 56 laid off Student Organized Services workers who want to apply for federal assistance. About 50 food workers hired through Bon Appetit Management Company have heard nothing from the university about benefits or pay.

In a statement from Provost Persis Drell on April 14, she said the university would “work with these (subcontractors) to access the assistance being provided by the federal government through the Cares Act and other government programs.”

“In addition,” Drell added, “we will support these contract firms in maintaining income and benefits through June 15 for their employees who normally provide services at Stanford.”

But for Eleuteria Valencia, who worked with UG2 cleaning buildings at Stanford, the past two weeks being laid off have been difficult without any communication from the university about whether she will ever go back to work.

When she was told not to return to work two weeks ago, Valencia said she immediately began worrying about rent, food and the people in her family who depend on her paycheck.

She said it was a slap in the face when out of nowhere Valencia saw a $3 deposit in her bank account from UG2.

“We want to know why some people are getting paid and others are not,” Valencia said. “I don’t know why I got that check. What I really need is my job. We really need it. We depend on our work.”

One former UG2 custodian at Stanford who asked to remain anonymous for fear of not being rehired said his sister was diagnosed with cancer just two months ago, and that she and his two daughters depend on his paycheck for basic necessities. He received a check from UG2 for about $1 on April 20.

“It’s like they are making fun of us,” he said. “Without work my children don’t eat. I don’t have the luxury to just see how life goes. We don’t have money laying around. And that’s what we get, a one-time deposit of help of less than a dollar from UG2.”

Laid off workers and students were also joined by former Stanford alumni, including Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim, and state senate candidate Jackie Fielder.

Like others, Castro — former U.S. secretary of housing and urban development — asked the university to step up and provide for all of its employees.

“There are a lot of people hurting out there right now. A lot of fathers and mothers whose children are asking them, are we gonna have enough to eat? Are you gonna have a job?” Castro said. “Stanford has an obligation to do its best with its $26 billion endowment to make sure that people who go out and work hard every day, as janitors, as groundskeepers, in so many ways throughout the university, that help make it the great university it is, that Stanford does its part to take care of them in this time of crisis.”