Students Organizing Against Reynolds (SOAR) Kicks Reynolds Out of Campus Dining Halls

SOAR is a member of the Ain’t I Woman Campaign and orga nizes students and young workers in the fight against mandatory overti me. The students first learned about the problem of mandatory overtime through the Pactiv workers’ story and recognized the relevance to their own lives and futures as young workers. In 2011, Pactiv fired 60% of the production workers (almost all Chinese and Latina women) in their New Jersey plant in retaliation for speaking out against intolera ble conditions. The remaining 40% were forced to take up their fired coworkers’ responsibilities on top of their own. The pace of work sped up, and the women were forced to work overtime—until many beca me seriously injured and disabled. Despite these setbacks, the workers continued to organize. Pactiv reta liated again by closing shop. Many students around the country spread the Pactiv/Reynolds Boycott to raise awareness of the problem.

The following is an article from SOAR: After years of organizing, SOAR at SUNY-Binghamton lear ned that the Binghamton University Dining Services will no longer be purchasing Reynolds/Pactiv’s pro ducts! However, according to a sta tement from the university, “Some retail locations on campus may buy Reynolds/Pactiv products, which Sodexo does not control or have approval over such purchases.” On November 4, students at SUNY-Bin ghamton, together with other AIW members, demonstrated and said to President Harvey Stenger that this partial victory is not enough! SUNY-Binghamton President Har vey Stenger should immediately su pport the boycott and remove ALL Reynolds/Pactiv’s products from campus!