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UC Workers and Students Picket in Support of AFSCME's Contract Fight

by ~Bradley (bradley [at] riseup.net)
On December 6, University of California employees represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 held statewide pickets at all five UC medical centers and 10 campuses to express their concerns with current working conditions and their effect on patient care and student services. At UC Santa Cruz, approximately 200 students and workers from AFSCME and other Monterey Bay Area unions participated in a rain soaked picket and rally in the Bay Tree Plaza.

The contract for over 11,000 patient care workers represented by AFSCME Local 3299 expired on September 30, 2007. The contract for the 9,000 additional UC workers represented by the AFSCME Local 3299 will expire on January 31, 2007. The members of Local 3299 are concerned with the ongoing direction of the University and how it is affecting their ability to provide the highest quality patient care and student services. AFSCME Local 3299 members include custodians, food service workers, bus drivers, groundskeepers, patient care providers and technicians.
baytree_12-6-07.jpg
You can listen to audio coverage of the protest at UC Berkeley courtesy of the KPFA Evening News:
mp3: http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2007/12/12/afscme-ucb_12-6-07.mp3

The Student and Worker Coalition for Justice at UC Santa Cruz has been actively supporting the AFSCME Local 3299 workers. On November 20th, students joined workers on a delegation to the Chancellor to deliver empty plates signed by workers & students, protesting the fact that the Chancellors in the UC are all getting 33% raises while workers aren't making enough to get by and to let the Chancellor know that AFSCME workers will be working 2nd and 3rd jobs just to put food on the table. Protesters expressed outrage that Chancellor Blumenthal would consider accepting a 33% raise before paying all UC workers a basic living wage, market rate salary steps and ensuring healthcare and pension protections.

The Student and Worker Coalition for Justice (SWCJ) is a group of students at UCSC that is dedicated to insuring justice for all workers on campus. The SWCJ works closely with the unions present at UCSC, and because AFSCME is in a struggle for a fair contract this year, much of the SWCJ's efforts have gone into organizing student for AFSCME workers. If you are interested in supporting the workers that allow the the University of California to function, then you can get involved by going to the SWCJ meetings on Wednesdays at 6pm at the top of the Student Union Building at UCSC.

AFSCME Local 3299
http://www.afscme3299.org

United Auto Workers Local 2865
http://www.uaw2865.org

Coalition of University Employees
http://www.santacruzcue.org

UPTE Local 3 AFL-CIO
http://www.upte.org

UCSC-AFT
http://www.ucsc-aft.org

UC Faculty Association


Members of unions off campus also attended the rally, including:

Greater Santa Cruz Federation of Teachers - Local 2030
http://www.gscft.org

Monterey Bay Central Labor Council AFL-CIO
http://www.montereybaylabor.org

Santa Cruz General Membership Branch, Industrial Workers of the World
http://www.iww.org/en/branches/US/CA/santacruzgmb.shtml


For more background information and photos from the September 27th rally at UCSC in support of AFSCME, please see:

Student and Worker Solidarity Kicks Off School Year at UCSC
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/09/28/18450191.php
§UC Santa Cruz Dining
by ~Bradley
dining_12-6-07.jpg
An employee of UC Santa Cruz Dining participates in the picket demanding that the UC improve working conditions.
§Students Support Workers and Their Families
by ~Bradley
students_12-6-07.jpg
§Express Picket
by ~Bradley
express_12-6-07.jpg
§AFSCME Local 3299
by ~Bradley
afscme_12-6-07.jpg
Taking Back UC: for Patients, Students and Our Families
http://www.afscme3299.org
§Picket
by ~Bradley
picket_12-6-07.jpg
§Support
by ~Bradley
support_12-6-07.jpg
§The Rock in Bay Tree Plaza
by ~Bradley
rock_12-6-07.jpg
§Birkenstocks
by ~Bradley
birkenstocks_12-6-07.jpg
§AFSCME Local 3299
by ~Bradley
3299_12-6-07.jpg
§Ryan Harvey
by ~Bradley
ryan_12-6-07.jpg
Ryan Harvey
http://www.riotfolk.org/member.php?id=4
§Adhamh Roland
by ~Bradley
adhamh_12-6-07.jpg
Adhamh Roland
radical shenanigans in a queerly folk fashion
http://www.riotfolk.org/member.php?id=5
§Stop UC Greed
by ~Bradley
respect_12-6-07.jpg
§Lilia
by ~Bradley
lilia_12-6-07.jpg
Lilia of the Student and Worker Coalition for Justice
https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/swcj
§Robert Chacanaca
by ~Bradley
robert_12-6-07.jpg
Robert Chacanaca from the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council
http://www.montereybaylabor.org
§Dana Frank
by ~Bradley
dana_12-6-07.jpg
Dana Frank, UCSC Professor of Labor and History
http://www.southendpress.org/authors/264
http://currents.ucsc.edu/05-06/01-09/frank.asp
§Maria Padilla
by ~Bradley
maria_12-6-07.jpg
Maria Padilla, a dedicated worker and AFSCME member
http://www.afscme3299.org
§Nora Hochman
by ~Bradley
nora_12-6-07.jpg
Nora Hochman is a labor advocate now working with the Coalition of University Employees (CUE)
http://www.cueunion.org/ucsc/scruz.php
http://santacruzcue.org
§Confronting "Labor Relations"
by ~Bradley
labor-relations_12-6-07.jpg
No, Really, the Human Resources Labor Relations office and employees just LOVE hearing from students, workers and other concerned community members.

Location: 2901 Mission Street Extension, Suite C
Fax: 831-458-0103

Suzanne Purcell, Senior Manager, 831-459-2980, lrsp [at] ucsc.edu
Paul Chandley, Principal LR Consultant, 831-459-1579, chandley [at] ucsc.edu
Corinne Lopez-Allen, Senior LR Consultant, 831-459-2143, calopeza [at] ucsc.edu
Janez Gingery, LR Consultant, 831-459-1032, jgingery [at] ucsc.edu
§Cesar Lara
by ~Bradley
cesar_12-6-07.jpg
Cesar Lara, Program Director for the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council
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