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Alumnus Kevin Macgorman is a subcontracted worker at Espresso Roma. Activists continue to push UC

Though a recent termination of UCLA’s largest maintenance subcontracted agreement was a victory for labor activists, efforts continue to ensure that these workers will be re-hired by the university. Organizers also want to extend the effort to hire all subcontracted workers directly.

The university chose not to renew its $621,000 contract with Diamond Contract Services in The Anderson School at UCLA in an attempt to hire subcontracted workers directly.

However, the termination of the contract may leave 18 employees jobless. All workers employed at UCLA through Diamond have the opportunity to apply for UCLA employment.

In past instances of terminated subcontracted agreements, all of the workers employed prior to the termination were immediately hired by UCLA, and local unions hope for the same outcome concerning Diamond employees.

The contract, which was terminated on Oct. 13, provided for janitorial services in The Anderson School.

Chancellor Albert Carnesale has said out-sourcing should not be seen as an option, unless the jobs involved are highly specialized or temporary.

Recently, UCLA has begun to review all out-sourced contracts said university spokesman Lawrence Lokman. The review is part of an attempt to make workers official employees of UCLA .

Officials of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union said they back the university’s actions to bring subcontracted workers in house.

“The union feels that not renewing the contract was 100 percent the right thing to do,” said Brian Rudiger, a lead organizer for Union 3299, a local AFSCME chapter.

“We believe what is going to happen is similar to what happened with the Metro workers – every worker that applied received the job they previously had performed. Hopefully none of the workers will lose their jobs,” Rudiger said.

One such successful attempt by AFSCME to bring UCLA employees in house was the unionizing of Metro Building Maintenance janitorial workers that were employed in Ackerman Union. The university terminated its contract with the maintenance company in September.

“Metro did not give us good pay or benefits. Before, when we worked for Metro, we made $6.75 an hour and now we make $9.72. Some of the biggest changes we’ve had are the benefits, the pay raises and the 40-hour work week,” said Humberto Martinez, 38, a UCLA janitorial employee in Ackerman Union.

Martinez attributes these benefits to the support from AFSCME, students and local politicians.

Students involved in the fight supporting subcontracted workers are continuing their efforts to bring employees in house.

“As students at UCLA, we have the power to create change on campus and we have issues on campus that need addressing, and one of these issues is subcontracted workers on campus. It is completely unfair to have workers doing the same jobs and some getting paid more just because they work for UCLA,” said Christina Kaoh, a second-year molecular, cell, and developmental biology student and Student Worker Front member.

This past June, students combined with subcontracted union workers and local politicians to march to the chancellor’s office to demand that all workers be brought in house.

Though the chancellor did not address the marchers at the time, union leaders believe the university is moving in the right direction.

“We feel really positive about the way things have been moving. Chancellor Carnesale has shown a lot of leadership despite outside pressures and he is beginning to address the issue of subcontracted workers,” Rudiger said.

Local unions are calling for UCLA to work out an agreement that will eventually bring all workers in house.

“The best thing that the university could do is work out an agreement and timeline where other subcontracted employees can be brought in house,” Rudiger said.