DePaul’s Student Government Association (SGA) released a resolution today that demands protections for Chartwells dinings workers contracted by DePaul. 

The resolution was written by Kelly Garcia, SGA senator for mission and ministry, and policy advisor Wesley Janicki. It was passed by SGA on May 1. Read the resolution here.

“This carries a lot of weight for SGA and allows the student body to take a stance on the issues,” Garcia said.  

Along with the resolution, the voting record was made public, which shows 19 voting members voting “yes,” six members choosing to abstain, one member voting “present” and one member voting “no.” View the record here.

Now that the resolution has been passed by SGA, it will go to DePaul’s Joint Council which is made up of executives, deans, vice presidents, the presidents of the faculty and staff councils and the current president of the SGA, Gisselle Cervantes.

The resolution will be presented to the Joint Council by Cervantes at SGA’s next meeting on May 19. 

“Resolutions are the only real piece of legislation that SGA can pass,” Cervantes said. “And it’s from representatives of the student population saying this is what students want.”

The resolution comes after weeks of rallies and social media campaigns spearheaded by a coalition of student activists called the “DePaul Community Accountability Alliance.” The alliance — which Garcia is also a part of — works alongside students from other universities and the Local 1, Unite Here! workers union to protect the rights of Chartwells dining workers, lower tuition costs, support adjunct professors and more. 

“The resolution is not where the work stops or where it begins,” Garcia said. “The work started with the union and the rallies and the petition.” 

For Garcia, it’s vital that action steps are taken by both SGA and the Alliance. 

“We know that bureaucracy can stop things from happening,” Garcia said. “We’ve been working on our end to get more student voices out there.”

The resolution comes alongside this week’s SGA elections. Students have through Thursday, May 14 to vote for candidates. Students can read about candidates and their platforms on the SGA website.