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University of CA service workers sit-in at Chairman of the Regents office
University of CA service workers from at least five UC campuses escalate struggle in protracted contract dispute, sit-in at Chairman of the Regents Richard Blum's San Francisco office. Video on youtube.
Invasion of the UC Service Workers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GFEghLNZQ8&feature=channel_page
Friday 01.16.09 San Francisco.
Friday, 60 University of California (UC) workers and at least 10 UC student supporters from at least five UC campuses stormed the San Francisco offices of UC Board of Regents Chairman Richard Blum on Montgomery. Chanting, singing and posting images and words of impoverished UC service workers on the walls, they announced their intentions to occupy Blum's office until he and UC President Mark Yudof agree to end poverty wages at UC.
They made it into Blum's office by nefarious means, sixty strong! Clapping and chanting and singin' and dancin', Blum's employees didn't know what to do. Blum was not available but his very plush office was wide open.
Beneath pictures of Dianne Feinstein and the Dalai Lama, surrounded by Tibetan prayer flags, pictures of presidents and potentates and other knick-knacks of Blum's illustrious capitalist career, twenty people, including AFSCME members and student supporters, sat in and were arrested after Blum gave the SFPD his civil complaint. They were arrested. The cops were real nice and professional, after a ride to Central Station the protesters were booked for misdemeanor trespass.
With wages as low as $10/hour, 96% of UC service workers are eligible for some form of public assistance, including food stamps, childcare assistance, and housing subsidies. During the course of the past year- and-a-half of negotiations with UC service workers, the UC Board of Regents has approved raises and bonuses for highly-paid UC executives totaling $14.5 million, long before Thursday's decision to freeze executive salaries next year.
For example, just in the past year-and-a-half, UCLA Vice Chancellor of Medical Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine Gerald Levey received three salary increases, including one in September 2008 for over $154,000. UCI Chief Medical Officer Eugene Spiritus got three raises and two bonuses, bringing his 2008 cash compensation to $328,073. Finally, Nathan Brostrom, the Vice Chancellor for Administration at UC Berkeley received a 6.1% salary increase of $16,400.
It is shameful that UC has found the funds to give wage increases to its highest paid employees, but has not found the funds to raise its lowest paid workers out of poverty.
UC service workers have struggled in poverty for too long. Today is the day to set UC's priorities straight. UC President Mark Yudof, Regents Chairman Richard Blum and the other members of the Board of Regents have the power to end poverty at UC. It is time for them to step in and step up and end poverty at UC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GFEghLNZQ8&feature=channel_page
Friday 01.16.09 San Francisco.
Friday, 60 University of California (UC) workers and at least 10 UC student supporters from at least five UC campuses stormed the San Francisco offices of UC Board of Regents Chairman Richard Blum on Montgomery. Chanting, singing and posting images and words of impoverished UC service workers on the walls, they announced their intentions to occupy Blum's office until he and UC President Mark Yudof agree to end poverty wages at UC.
They made it into Blum's office by nefarious means, sixty strong! Clapping and chanting and singin' and dancin', Blum's employees didn't know what to do. Blum was not available but his very plush office was wide open.
Beneath pictures of Dianne Feinstein and the Dalai Lama, surrounded by Tibetan prayer flags, pictures of presidents and potentates and other knick-knacks of Blum's illustrious capitalist career, twenty people, including AFSCME members and student supporters, sat in and were arrested after Blum gave the SFPD his civil complaint. They were arrested. The cops were real nice and professional, after a ride to Central Station the protesters were booked for misdemeanor trespass.
With wages as low as $10/hour, 96% of UC service workers are eligible for some form of public assistance, including food stamps, childcare assistance, and housing subsidies. During the course of the past year- and-a-half of negotiations with UC service workers, the UC Board of Regents has approved raises and bonuses for highly-paid UC executives totaling $14.5 million, long before Thursday's decision to freeze executive salaries next year.
For example, just in the past year-and-a-half, UCLA Vice Chancellor of Medical Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine Gerald Levey received three salary increases, including one in September 2008 for over $154,000. UCI Chief Medical Officer Eugene Spiritus got three raises and two bonuses, bringing his 2008 cash compensation to $328,073. Finally, Nathan Brostrom, the Vice Chancellor for Administration at UC Berkeley received a 6.1% salary increase of $16,400.
It is shameful that UC has found the funds to give wage increases to its highest paid employees, but has not found the funds to raise its lowest paid workers out of poverty.
UC service workers have struggled in poverty for too long. Today is the day to set UC's priorities straight. UC President Mark Yudof, Regents Chairman Richard Blum and the other members of the Board of Regents have the power to end poverty at UC. It is time for them to step in and step up and end poverty at UC.
For more information:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GFEghLNZQ8...
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LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-sanfrancisco17-2009jan17,0,3137772.story
SF Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/16/BADM15C11F.DTL&tsp=1
CBS 5: http://cbs5.com/local/university.california.wages.2.910772.html
SF Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/16/BADM15C11F.DTL&tsp=1
CBS 5: http://cbs5.com/local/university.california.wages.2.910772.html
For more information:
http://SF Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com...
medai account
For more information:
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2...
When you consider all the power the Feinstein and her husband control or hog, they don't leave much to the rest of the people. How much more do they want? Total control?
It is interesting how quickly the SFPD were there to serve their masters. Of course the police unions have served their masters so well that the politicians have passed laws that apparently let a cop shoot someone in cold blood and walk away from the scene without being detained or interrogated. Police and their unions no longer serve the public - they serve themselves and by doing such a good, good job for their corporate masters they get about everything they want - the public's interest be damned.
Also, if you want to look into why the California state and many California municipal budgets are in trouble look no further than all of the very generous benefits police have garnered for themselves. Vallejo even had to go bankrupt to get out from under all of the luxurious benefits Police and Fire had lumped upon the citizens. The rest of us just pay - we don't have the union clout with the politicians.
SF politicians are some of the worse. They hide their greed and self serving behind a veneer of progressiveness.
It is interesting how quickly the SFPD were there to serve their masters. Of course the police unions have served their masters so well that the politicians have passed laws that apparently let a cop shoot someone in cold blood and walk away from the scene without being detained or interrogated. Police and their unions no longer serve the public - they serve themselves and by doing such a good, good job for their corporate masters they get about everything they want - the public's interest be damned.
Also, if you want to look into why the California state and many California municipal budgets are in trouble look no further than all of the very generous benefits police have garnered for themselves. Vallejo even had to go bankrupt to get out from under all of the luxurious benefits Police and Fire had lumped upon the citizens. The rest of us just pay - we don't have the union clout with the politicians.
SF politicians are some of the worse. They hide their greed and self serving behind a veneer of progressiveness.
Hello,
Last Friday, 60 of UC’s lowest wage workers went to the San Francisco office of UC Regent Richard Blum. The purpose of their visit was to try and talk to him directly regarding their contract. During their visit, the workers asked to meet and/or talk with Regent Blum in person or by telephone. When Regent Blum denied their request, 20 of these low wage service workers sat down and refused to leave.
Currently 96% of these 8,500 UC Service Workers receive such a low wages that they qualify for at least one form of public assistance. Service workers felt that after over a year and a half of little action at the bargaining table by the leadership of the UC System that it was necessary to try and deal directly with the leadership themselves.
Unfortunately, President Yudof’s response to the plight of these workers was business as usual. Instead of moving to immediately solve this contract and meet the University’s moral responsibility to provide workers a wage that will not keep them and their families in poverty, President Yudof wrote a letter (attached) to AFSCME Local 3299’s President expressing his strong feelings that worker actions such as these must stop. This clearly shows that once again the current leadership at UC only cares about those few individuals at the top and that they continue to turn their backs on the real pressing needs of 8,500 of their employees who they pay a poverty wage.
In answer to this misguided letter, AFSCME Local 3299 President Lakesha Harrison has responded today to President Yudof with the attached letter. If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me at (510) 701-0810 (cell).
William Schlitz
Political & Communications Director
AFSCME Local 3299
(510) 844-1160 x120
Last Friday, 60 of UC’s lowest wage workers went to the San Francisco office of UC Regent Richard Blum. The purpose of their visit was to try and talk to him directly regarding their contract. During their visit, the workers asked to meet and/or talk with Regent Blum in person or by telephone. When Regent Blum denied their request, 20 of these low wage service workers sat down and refused to leave.
Currently 96% of these 8,500 UC Service Workers receive such a low wages that they qualify for at least one form of public assistance. Service workers felt that after over a year and a half of little action at the bargaining table by the leadership of the UC System that it was necessary to try and deal directly with the leadership themselves.
Unfortunately, President Yudof’s response to the plight of these workers was business as usual. Instead of moving to immediately solve this contract and meet the University’s moral responsibility to provide workers a wage that will not keep them and their families in poverty, President Yudof wrote a letter (attached) to AFSCME Local 3299’s President expressing his strong feelings that worker actions such as these must stop. This clearly shows that once again the current leadership at UC only cares about those few individuals at the top and that they continue to turn their backs on the real pressing needs of 8,500 of their employees who they pay a poverty wage.
In answer to this misguided letter, AFSCME Local 3299 President Lakesha Harrison has responded today to President Yudof with the attached letter. If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me at (510) 701-0810 (cell).
William Schlitz
Political & Communications Director
AFSCME Local 3299
(510) 844-1160 x120
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