 |
    STUDENT ACTION WITH WORKERS |
|||||||
|
Student Action with We support a living wage for all workers and the right to collective bargaining. Meetings: Wednesdays 8PM Alumni Hall, 313 Newsletter Archive:
Check out the Living Wage Action Center!
SAW supports the USAS sweat-free campaign!
Join the fight to turn fast food into fair food!
|
SAW RELEASES EXCLUSIVE SAW ACTIVISTS OCCUPY, EDUCATE! By Mike Hachey - email
Student Action with Workers has created an exhibition honoring the struggles of UNC workers who have campaigned for decades for dignity, racial and gender equality, and economic justice. We have set up this exhibit to highlight an important aspect of our history that has been suppressed by the University. As workers continue to organize across campus today, they are again facing intimidation and harassment from the University and its subcontractors. We demand that the Chancellor publicly affirm: “ The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will adopt a policy of noninterference in any unionization process and will require all contractors to adopt the same policy. The University affirms the right of workers to democratically organize unions by a method of their own choosing. We will honor any agreement negotiated between contractors and their employees. ” Transcript of John Sweeney's Speech An Open Letter to Chancellor Moeser Press Coverage: Daily Tar Heel, 11/23, Daily Tar Heel, 11/29, Press Release SAW Activists Investigate Team Cleaning at University of Texas - Austin By Faith Everett Housekeepers at UT-Austin have been working under team cleaning for years. Here are some of the things they told SAW: “The managers want to know why about everything--- why more toilet paper is used this month than last month, why you were not on your floor at exactly your time. And the managers want you to keep record so that they will know exactly how much extra toilet paper was used since last month and then complain.They do not consider that more people may have used the bathroom on a particular day because of a special event or someone may have made a mess. One day someone smeared feces all over the wall and it took one of my workers longer to clean it up than usual. The managers do not think about things like that. They don’t care.” “Managers do not care about the worker’s opinions and we are the ones doing the work.” “I just pray that you open your dean’s eyes before it is too late.” READ MORE NC Workers Stand up for their Rights! By Sascha Bollag - email
On the night after the great civil rights heroine Rosa Parks was laid to rest, workers from all across the state of North Carolina came together to stand up and be heard in the great tradition that Ms. Parks was part of. The occasion was a hearing held by the International Commission on Labor Rights (ICLR) regarding working conditions in North Carolina, and specifically, whether legality of General Statute 95-98, which explicitly prohibits collective bargaining by public workers. To determine whether 95-98 violates international labor law, lawyers from literally across the globe were on hand to hear these workers’ testimonies, coming from as far afield as Nigeria, South Africa, India, Sweden, Canada, and Mexico. The event was convened through the efforts of the International Worker Justice Campaign (IWJC), a grass-roots campaign by UE150, the NC Public Service Workers Union of many public workers, including University, Hospital and Town workers here in Chapel Hill. The IWJC is a campaign of workers and supporters working to change this law and improve working conditions for NC workers... READ MORE SAW Demands Sweat-Free Apparel at UNC! By Melanie Stratton - email The Sweatfree Campus Campaign is a national campaign proposed by United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) that calls for universities to require its licensees to pay a living wage to its employees and support the right for workers to form a union and collectively bargain. This proposal was brought before UNC’s labor licensing advisory council, a committee which directly advises Chancellor Moeser in September... READ MORE UNC Students "Clean-Up" South Building! By Mike Hachey - email
"WHAT’S DISGUSTING? Union busting! "What’s outrageous? Sweatshop wages! "UNC: Clean up your act!" These were a few of the chants heard in South Hall on September 28th as student activists used vacuum cleaners, rags, and brooms to help UNC clean up its labor policies. SAW presented a letter to Chancellor Moeser demanding that the University ensure a fair unionization process for ARAMARK employees, give housekeepers a voice in the decision on team cleaning, and require factories where UNC apparel is produced to pay a living wage and allow workers to organize democratically. In response, the Chancellor deferred the decisions to committees and Dean Jablonski scheduled a meeting between ARAMARK and SAW. iEstudiantes “Limpian” El Edificio de la Administración! “¿Que es mugroso? ¡Atacar los sindicatos! ¿Que es increíble? ¡Sueldos injustos! "¡UNC: Limpia tu comportamiento!” Estos fueron algunos de los cantos que se escucharon en el edificio South el 28 de septiembre cuando activistas estudiantiles usaron aspiradoras, trapos, y escobas para ayudarle a la UNC a ‘limpiar’ sus pólizas hacia los trabajadores. SAW (Acción Estudiantil con Trabajadores) presento una carta al canciller Mohecer exigiendo que la universidad asegure un proceso justo de formación de sindicato para los trabajadores de ARAMARK, que les de a los trabajadores de limpieza una voz en la decisión sobre limpieza en equipos, y que requiera que las factorías donde se producen productos con la marca de la universidad paguen un sueldo justo a los trabajadores y los permitan organizarse democráticamente. Como respuesta, el canciller dejo las decisiones en manos de comités y Margaret Jablonski hizo una cita para una reunión entre SAW y ARAMARK. Team Cleaning Unsuited for UNC By Dave Brannigan The August 3rd Employee Forum meeting voted unanimously to support the housekeeper’s efforts to obtain information from Mr. Alty, the Facilities Services Director, about the much rumored implementation of a new cleaning system called "Team Cleaning." Housekeepers wanted the information so they would be able to formulate informed and critical questions before the meetings Alty had scheduled the following week to sell them his grand idea. Mr. Alty provided no information prior to their meeting. The housekeepers were subjected to what amounted to a sales pitch from Mr. Alty, Housekeeping Director Bill Burston, and John Walker, the owner of "ManageMen"tm, the owner of the OS1tm system. Mr. Alty claims the new system is a better way of working and is needed in response to poor results from a "customer" satisfaction survey of housekeeping services. He has chosen to set in train a predetermined plan to install a system that re introduces the ‘Time and Motion’ man to campus. A stopwatch is not required because ‘ManageMen tm has already figured out all the cleaning times, with a booklet containing 447 different timings for 447 different cleaning tasks timed to 1/ 10th of a second... READ MORE Limpieza en Equipo: No Sirve en UNC Escrito por Dave Branigan La reunión del foro de empleados del 3 de agosto voto unánimemente para obtener más información del señor Jim Alty sobre la implementación de un nuevo sistema de limpieza, llamada limpieza en equipo u OS1. Los trabajadores querían esta información para poder formular preguntas informadas y criticas para las reuniones de la semana siguiente, cuando el señor Alty atentaría venderles su gran idea. El señor Alty no revelo información alguna antes de la reunión. Los trabajadores tuvieron que atender lo que no fue mas que un comercial hecho por Jim Alty, Director de Limpieza Bill Burston, y John Walter, dueño de ManageMen tm y creador del sistema OS1. Alty dice que el nuevo sistema sería una mejor manera de trabajar y es necesaria después de resultados bajos en una encuesta al “consumidor.” El plan que Alty ha propuesto reintroduce la idea del hombre que calcula tiempos y movimientos, sino que estos no son necesarios ya que ManageMen tiene listo un libro con cálculos sobre el tiempo que se demoran 447 trabajos distintos, calculados hasta un décimo de un segundo... MÁS
ON OCTOBER 6, students from SAW and the Black Student Movement met with ARAMARK officials and UNC administrators. The meeting was scheduled by the UNC Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs as an opportunity for ARAMARK to explain to students the progress it has made on worker issues over the summer. Last year SAW presented ARAMARK and UNC with a list of grievances from dining services workers. Included in the list was the wrongful arrest and suspension of Vel Dowdy and the wrongful termination of Leslie Sumpter. Also included were issues regarding open hostility towards the unionization drive and a lack of basic respect for employees. On several occasions last semester delegations of workers met with ARAMARK and UNC officials to reiterate their demand for change in the workplace. Over a dozen workers also attended the Chancellor’s open house to speak out about anti-union intimidation and sexual harassment. Despite these clear messages from its workers, ARAMARK still refuses to act on the issues that have been raised. They claim that over the summer they conducted “focus groups” with over 400 employees from UNC’s campus. As a follow-up they will soon offer diversity trainings to employees. In addition, English-language educational materials will be made available to workers and their families. They also stressed that workers can call the toll free hotline (1-800-224-0411) to report any problems. These changes, however positive, still do not address the problems that were presented last year. On the key issue of card check neutrality, which workers and students have vocally supported as the only fair process of unionization, ARAMARK still refuses to change its policy. They also refused to comment on the actions taken against Leslie Sumpter and Vel Dowdy. SAW will continue to fight for card check neutrality and real changes in the workplace, not just more empty promises. Estudiantes Activistas se Reúnen con ARAMARK El 6 de octubre, estudiantes de SAW y el movimiento de estudiantes negros se encontró con oficiales de ARAMARK y miembros de la administración de UNC. La reunión fue hecha por el vise canciller de temas de estudiantes como una oportunidad de que ARAMARK le explicara a los estudiantes el progreso que ha ocurrido en temas del trabajador durante el verano. El año pasado SAW le presento a ARAMARK y UNC una lista de los sufrimientos de trabajadores de servicios de comida. Incluida en la lista fueron las injustas detenciones y suspensiones de Vel Dowdy y la liquidación injusta de Lezlie Sumpter. También fueron incluidos temas sobre un ambiente hostil al deseo por un sindicato y falta de respeto por los empleados. En varias ocasiones el semestre pasado delegaciones de trabajadores se reunió con oficiales de ARAMARK y UNC para repetir su exigencia por cambios en el lugar de trabajo. Más de una docena de trabajadores también fueron a la cita abierta con el canciller para hablar sobre la intimidación contra los sindicatos y acoso sexual. ARAMARK todavía no reacciona a los temas que han sido traídos a la luz. Dicen que este verano hicieron estudios con más de 400 empleados de la universidad. Pronto empezaran a ofrecer entrenamientos de diversidad a los empleados. Adicionalmente, materiales educativos en ingles serán disponibles para los trabajadores y sus familias. También dijeron que los trabajadores pueden llamar gratis al número (1-800-224-0411) para reportar algún problema. Estos cambios, aunque sean positivos, todavía no hacen nada por los problemas que fueron presentados el año pasado. Sobre el tema más importante, de las tarjetas de unión, en el cual han acordado los trabajadores y estudiantes que es el único proceso justo de formar una unión, ARAMARK todavía dice no querer cambiar sus pólizas. También negaron comentario en los casos de las acciones tomadas en contra de Lezlie Sumpter y Vel Dowdy. SAW continuara a exigir neutralidad de revisar tarjetas y verdaderos cambios en lugares de trabajo, no mas promesas sin fondo. WRITE FOR WORKER POWER! OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS Worker Power, the biweekly newsletter of Student Action with Workers, is seeking submissions from UNC campus workers (including UNC employees, ARAMARK employees, and any other subcontracted workers) as well as UNC students and community members. Submissions should address a campus labor issue and may be of any length, typed or handwritten, anonymous or signed, in English or Spanish. Email submissions to saw(at)unc.edu or bring them to our weekly meetings ESCRIBE POR PODER AL TRABAJADOR!BUSCAMOS ARTICULOS Poder al Trabajador, la revista bisemanal de SAW busca artículos escritos por empleados de la Universidad (incluyendo trabajadores de UNC, ARAMARK, y todos de mas), como también escritos por estudiantes o miembros de la comunidad. Los artículos deben de ser sobre algún tema de interés de labor en la Universidad, pueden ser de cualquier tamaño, escritos en maquina o a mano, anónimos o firmados, en ingles o en español. Manda artículos a saw(a)unc.edu o tráelos a nuestras reuniones semanales.
|
