I would like to take this opportunity to respond to Café Mac’s reply to my original opinion editorial, “Café Mac workers fired.” (Editor’s note: Café Mac’s response editorial was published late last week online due to its time-sensitivity.)

First off, Café Mac and I are making the same argument. Café Mac prefers “full-time, direct employees,” which is exactly what workers have been asking for on the petition. We have been demanding that all fired workers be re-hired as full-time employees at Café Mac. Not only would Café Mac save money, but the workers themselves would be able to make more.

Second, Café Mac managers explain that several Opportunity Partners workers have been re-hired. Only two workers have been re-hired, and nine were originally fired. This is shameful. Café Mac management makes Opportunity Partners sound like a temp agency, but Opportunity Partners aim to have long-lasting relationships with companies. The problem is that like so many in this society, companies see workers with disabilities as expendable and temporary. Café managers made Opportunity Partners’ contract with Bon Appétit temporary by terminating their relationship through the abrupt firing of an entire group of workers with disabilities.

This reflects the unfair and abusive way Café Mac managers use disabled workers. The nine fired workers want to keep working at Café Mac. They work hard and care about their jobs. Café should offer all nine fired workers their jobs back. They deserve nothing less.