Protect Subway Workers' Freedom of Expression

We, the undersigned, believe that Stanford University must act in accordance with Federal labor law. We believe that any violation of any law, including labor law, is a breach of the Fundamental Standard and other ethical principles that guide this institution.

On Thursday, Sept 30th, Stanford Dining employees at Subway were exercising their right to wear union emblems when their employers illegally demanded that the stickers be removed. This act was not simply a one-time violation of Federal labor law; Susan Hoerger, the Director of Employee and Labor Relations at Stanford ordered this illegal action to continue. In accordance with this dictate, the acting head of Stanford Dining, Rafi Teherian, required that all Stanford Dining employees to "refrain from attaching any type of unauthorized stickers, buttons, badges, etc. to their uniforms". This is a clear violation of the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, which strictly protects the wearing of Union Paraphernalia. Moreover, it is well-settled and established by both the National Labor Relations Board and the courts, including the Supreme Court, that workers have the right to wear Union buttons or other Union insignia while at work, absent special circumstances based on considerations of production, safety or discipline. Republic Aviation Corp v. NLRB 324 U.S. 793 (1945); Kendall Co., 267 NLRB 963 (1982); Malta Construction Co., 276 NLRB 1494.

As students, we demand that Stanford University remedy this situation and allow all Stanford employees to express themselves freely as well as actively work to adopt a Code of Conduct that sets standards that are fair and legal for all employees of this university. In particular, we demand that Stanford Dining take action immediately by issuing a statement ensuring that all Stanford employees be able to wear union insignia and otherwise express themselves freely.