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BRIDGET O'BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Antonio Villaraigosa (left) speaks with ASUCLA employees Alvaro Gutierrez, Luz Real and Rosa Alvarado outside LuValle Commons on Thursday about their attempt to unionize.

By Kelly Rayburn

DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF

krayburn@media.ucla.edu

Braulio Morales wears an Associated Students of UCLA uniform and works in the kitchen of an ASUCLA restaurant, but his pay check comes from a temp agency.

Antonio Villaraigosa found that troubling.

Villaraigosa, the former speaker of the state assembly who lost in a bid to become Los Angeles’ mayor, came to UCLA Thursday to throw his political weight behind the effort to unionize about 100 non-student ASUCLA workers.

“No one deserves to work like an animal without benefits,” he told a group of workers outside LuValle Commons.

As the UC office of the president currently awaits to begin negotiations with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Villaraigosa called the current working conditions of the non-student temporary workers – many of whom work full-time hours with low pay and no benefits – an “abomination.”

Villaraigosa shook hands and embraced workers like Hildo Sandoval, who has worked at UCLA for five years and said she earns “el minimo” without sick leave, a pension or vacation time.

“Vamos a ganar (We will win),” Villaraigosa told the workers.

In 1995, ASUCLA was threatened with bankruptcy and reverted to hiring workers from a temp agency to lower its costs. Though workers say the association said all along it would hire them as ASUCLA employees who would receive benefits, seven years later ASUCLA still relies on about 100 temp workers to help run its restaurants and stores.

While Villaraigosa said the unionizing issue is a question with no gray area, ASUCLA board members say they have serious concerns about the expense involved in unionizing, which could cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million. Though ASUCLA passed a resolution urging the UC Office of the President to begin negotiations with AFSCME, ASUCLA finance director Rich Delia said unionizing cost could potentially send the association into bankruptcy.

Villaraigosa, however, said there’s no reason an entity that makes $73 million a year cannot spend a small portion of that to give workers higher wages and benefits – to “do the right thing.”

Villaraigosa, who served as an ex officio member of the UC Board of Regents when he was speaker, said he will write to UC President Richard Atkinson to “properly brief” him on the matter and plans to broaden the base of support for the workers among state legislators.

UC Spokesman Paul Schwartz, meanwhile, said the university is working closely with AFSCME to take the “best approach” in dealing with the group of workers and that outside views from Villaraigosa or the state legislature are appreciated.

ASUCLA Executive Director Patricia Eastman had little reaction to Villaraigosa’s campus visit, saying she did not know he was coming.

Eastman said Villaraigosa’s viewpoints will not affect her in any decisions she will make regarding the workers but added, “I don’t speak for everyone.”

Villaraigosa, who served for six years as a state assemblyman from Los Angeles and lost to James Hahn in last year’s mayoral reaction, co-taught a class in UCLA’s education department in the fall.