NY-19 Candidate Jeff Beals Calls on Culinary Institute of America President to Stop Union Busting

 

NY-19 Candidate Jeff Beals Calls on Culinary Institute of America President to Stop Union Busting

Beals joined an October 5 protest and today released letter to CIA president opposing plan to replace seventeen workers with outsourced low-wage labor

 

HYDE PARK, NY – Congressional candidate Jeff Beals today released an open letter delivered to Culinary Institute of America (CIA) President Tim Ryan calling on him to not lay off seventeen union workers.

“I write to urge you to protect the seventeen members of the Culinary Craft Association… whose positions will soon be replaced by non-union, lower paid workers receiving low benefits. I hope you’ll reconsider that step for the sake of our community, our economy and your own institution,” Beals writes.

The full text of the letter is below.

Beals is joining with workers from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Culinary Craft Association to protest a mass layoff that is expected to take place in the coming days.  Protests began on October 4-5 when the CIA called off talks with the school’s union and declared that workers had not met its demands to cut costs by several hundred thousand dollars.

Beals joined workers in that protest on October 5 at the school’s Hyde Park campus and released a video titled “Union Power, Corporate Greed”, which has received over 7,000 views on Facebook and sparked widespread consternation. Watch it here.

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“These workers and their families are our friends and neighbors in the Hudson Valley and they contribute to the community we share,” the letter continues. “They are part of a team that maintains and repairs the beautiful grounds and campus of the Culinary Institute. They are hard-working building maintenance workers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, painters, groundskeepers, campus specialists and more. They deserve your fullest support.”

The CIA is registered as a not-for-profit and claims the firings are being done in order to keep down the cost of tuition, but workers have complained that the executives at the school receive over $5 million in executive compensation, casting doubt on the school’s claims that these cuts are necessary.  CIA officials say they will replace the positions with lower-wage contract labor through an outside firm.

Beals letter continues: “These are your peers, your colleagues, and our community now in distress. I hope you will build a stronger Culinary Institute with them. Don’t destroy their lives and weaken a reputable Institute in pursuit of a corporate agenda. Don’t create lower paying contractor jobs. Save the good jobs and the workers who are dedicated to the Culinary Institute and its continued success.”

For more information about Jeff Beals’ campaign, visit http://www.bealsforcongress.com or email press@jeffbealsforcongress.

About Jeff Beals

Jeff Beals is a local high school history teacher and former U.S. diplomat whose family has had a farm in the Hudson Valley since his childhood.  He lives and works in Woodstock with his wife, Suhayr, a kindergarten teacher, and two sons.  Jeff was one of the longest-serving diplomats of the Iraq war, decorated by the U.S. Army and State Department for his leadership in bringing all sides together in cease-fire talks and the drafting of Iraq’s constitution. He is a local Democratic activist and political organizer in NY-19, where he voted against John Faso.

 

FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER

 

Dear Dr. Ryan:

 

I write to urge you to protect the seventeen members of the Culinary Craft Association of the Culinary Institute of America whose positions will soon be replaced by non-union, lower paid workers receiving low benefits. I hope you’ll reconsider that step for the sake of our community, our economy and your own institution.

These workers and their families are our friends and neighbors in the Hudson Valley and they contribute to the community we share. They are part of a team that maintains and repairs the beautiful grounds and campus of the Culinary Institute. They are hard working building maintenance workers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, painters, groundskeepers, campus specialists and more. They deserve your fullest support.

Before eliminating these union jobs with salaries and benefits in favor of contractor positions with lower wages and fewer benefits, I hope you’ll reflect, as I do, on the things that have helped us get ahead in life. Your remarkable story began as a dishwasher and you have risen to the powerful and prestigious position you now hold. Along the way, many men and women saw promise in you and your vision. Was it your passion for people or your cost-cutting skills that helped you succeed? Did you favor community-building and cooperative problem solving or job outsourcing and income inequality when you interviewed for your position? I ask you to reflect on the people who supported you in your path to this high place in the world. Your accomplishments are due in part to your hard work — but also in part to the hard work of so many others whose shoulders you now stand on.

These are your peers, your colleagues, and our community now in distress. I hope you will build a stronger Culinary Institute with them. Don’t destroy their lives and weaken a reputable Institute in pursuit of a corporate agenda. Don’t create lower paying contractor jobs. Save the good jobs and the workers who are dedicated to the Culinary Institute and its continued success.

 

Sincerely,

Jeff Beals

Candidate for Congress

NY Congressional District 19

Author: Harlem Valley News