Channeling their inner Dave Chappelle, a group of students and union workers bombarded UC Berkley’s Chancellor Nicholas Dirks with cake, dance and a parody of “Super Freak” demanding fair treatment for workers.
Students and union workers believe the university is violating their agreement to forbid the use of contract workers except in certain situations, The Daily Californian reports. Union members argue contract workers have less protections than the average union worker and therefor are more susceptible to abuse and mistreatment.
The demands were made explicit accompanied by dance moves and lyrics:
“He’s a very stingy chancellor,
Treating workers hella unfair,
All they want is living wages,
UC jobs and decent health care.”
Hard to argue with those lyrics, claims Rosella Bearden. The protest was part of a campus-wide campaign to ensure “that the development of its new Richmond campus provides adequate benefits to workers.”
The campaign, Justice 4 UC Workers, is also promoting Senate bill 376, which would ensure that contacted workers are guaranteed the same benefits and wage compensation that UC Berkley employees earn. UC Berkeley has already addressed such a bill claiming it could prevent the use of specialized services and would add $66 million per year to employee expenses for the university.
At press time, neither Dave Chappelle nor Rick James were available to comment on the laborer’s effervescent rendition of “Super Freak.”