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University of California low-wage workers visit new UC President Yudof bearing pancakes.
UC workers represented by AFSCME made pancakes for new UC president Mark Yudof (his self-confessed favorite food), and asked him to come out, eat breakfast and explain to us how he plans to end poverty wages at what is claimed to be the greatest public university in the world... He's a no-show, the ingrate.
Two weeks ago, low-wage U.C. workers represented by AFSCME walked the Woodmont way neighborhood in the Oakland Hills inviting newly appointed University of California president Mark Yudof and his neighbors to come eat pancakes on September 27th. We wanted Yudof to come out and explain how he intends to END POVERT WAGES at the University of California.
AFSCME workers at all ten campuses and five hospitals have been in contract negotiations with UC management for nearly a year and even though ninety percent of our workforce is eligible for public assistance, worry about feeding their children and some take two or three jobs to survive or collect cans during lunch breaks for recycling, UC executives have not moved.
It was a good school and is a good place to work and we care more for the students than the executives do, but if we can't afford the rent, or gas or clothes for our kids, something is wrong. UC executives have no trouble hiring celebrity professors, spending millions on sports and new buildings and paying themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars a year but they can't find the pittance to pay a custodian or a food worker a living wage? What's up with that?
Who wants to have their blood drawn by a technician worried about paying the rent or go into surgery with x-rays taken by a temp? Who wants to send their child to an ever more expensive university where the toilets are neglected and the trash sits and rots due to workforce shortages, workplace injuries and underpaid staff?
Saturday. September 27th at 11: a.m. nearly a hundred workers from local UC campuses including members of UPTE(hooray!) converged in the rarified air of the Oakland hills to make pancakes for newly appointed president MARK YUDOF at the huge Oakland Hills mansion on Woodmont Way rented by the university for somewhere around eleven to thirteen thousand dollars a month.
Workers don't want to get rich, but we are starving and are insulted they would hire president Yudof at nearly a million a year, plus this huge, all-expense paid mcmansion, while pleading poor to long time workers stuck at eleven dollars an hour. They claim the state is at fault but the state budget is a tiny portion of service workers salaries and the food service, housing and hospital sectors in the University are cash cows, a fact they never mention.
And we are not finished. UCSF workers visited head regent Richard Blum two weeks ago and boy was he pissed, last week we had an all union march at UC Berkeley's famous Sproul Plaza, and if they think they can wait us out, well, how long will it be until hell frezees over?
Finally, because we've lost faith in the regents, whom we believe are mismanaging UC's huge pension fund, AFSCME statewide will place an initiative on the California ballot next year establishing joint governance of pension program (see Mercury News story).
See the pics below.
hc
for more information;
http://www.newuniversity.org/main/article?slug=uc_priorities_ignore_fair161
http://www.dailycal.org/article/102110/striking_a_fair_deal_for_all
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/17/EDDO11OSPT.DTL&hw=uc+workers&sn=001&sc=1000
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-miles16-2008jul16,0,1442927.story
http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/1084601.html
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10489815?nclick_check=1&forced=true
AFSCME workers at all ten campuses and five hospitals have been in contract negotiations with UC management for nearly a year and even though ninety percent of our workforce is eligible for public assistance, worry about feeding their children and some take two or three jobs to survive or collect cans during lunch breaks for recycling, UC executives have not moved.
It was a good school and is a good place to work and we care more for the students than the executives do, but if we can't afford the rent, or gas or clothes for our kids, something is wrong. UC executives have no trouble hiring celebrity professors, spending millions on sports and new buildings and paying themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars a year but they can't find the pittance to pay a custodian or a food worker a living wage? What's up with that?
Who wants to have their blood drawn by a technician worried about paying the rent or go into surgery with x-rays taken by a temp? Who wants to send their child to an ever more expensive university where the toilets are neglected and the trash sits and rots due to workforce shortages, workplace injuries and underpaid staff?
Saturday. September 27th at 11: a.m. nearly a hundred workers from local UC campuses including members of UPTE(hooray!) converged in the rarified air of the Oakland hills to make pancakes for newly appointed president MARK YUDOF at the huge Oakland Hills mansion on Woodmont Way rented by the university for somewhere around eleven to thirteen thousand dollars a month.
Workers don't want to get rich, but we are starving and are insulted they would hire president Yudof at nearly a million a year, plus this huge, all-expense paid mcmansion, while pleading poor to long time workers stuck at eleven dollars an hour. They claim the state is at fault but the state budget is a tiny portion of service workers salaries and the food service, housing and hospital sectors in the University are cash cows, a fact they never mention.
And we are not finished. UCSF workers visited head regent Richard Blum two weeks ago and boy was he pissed, last week we had an all union march at UC Berkeley's famous Sproul Plaza, and if they think they can wait us out, well, how long will it be until hell frezees over?
Finally, because we've lost faith in the regents, whom we believe are mismanaging UC's huge pension fund, AFSCME statewide will place an initiative on the California ballot next year establishing joint governance of pension program (see Mercury News story).
See the pics below.
hc
for more information;
http://www.newuniversity.org/main/article?slug=uc_priorities_ignore_fair161
http://www.dailycal.org/article/102110/striking_a_fair_deal_for_all
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/17/EDDO11OSPT.DTL&hw=uc+workers&sn=001&sc=1000
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-miles16-2008jul16,0,1442927.story
http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/1084601.html
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10489815?nclick_check=1&forced=true
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"SHhhh! (don't tell the ALF)"
The ALF has not be active in Berkeley, and to compare legal protest to property destruction is just wrong.
The ALF has not be active in Berkeley, and to compare legal protest to property destruction is just wrong.
property destruction is a completely rational way of expressing oneself. Anyway, it was a joke. Stop taking your liberal self so seriously.
Legal protest? Just tell that to the SHAC 7. They maintained a website that was sympathetic to home demos just like this one. Now 6 of them are in jail serving terms longer than many violent criminals.
Difference in this case with this home demo being that if SHAC showed up on this ass' doorstep, the FBI would have been all over it, demonizing the protesters and attacking them in every way they could think of.
Protest is only legal as a function of how threatened the powers that be feel by the ideology of the protesters. It minimally has to do with property destruction or any other supposed "illegal" actions. Laws are easily changed and/or twisted to suit the needs of those in power in suppressing dissent.
Difference in this case with this home demo being that if SHAC showed up on this ass' doorstep, the FBI would have been all over it, demonizing the protesters and attacking them in every way they could think of.
Protest is only legal as a function of how threatened the powers that be feel by the ideology of the protesters. It minimally has to do with property destruction or any other supposed "illegal" actions. Laws are easily changed and/or twisted to suit the needs of those in power in suppressing dissent.
For more information:
http://www.shac7.com/
University of California President Yudof Approves $3,000,000 to Outsource UCB Chancellor’s Job
The UC President has a UCB Chancellor that should do the high paid job he is paid for instead of hiring an East Coast consulting firm to fulfill his responsibilities. ‘World class’ smart executives like Chancellor Birgeneau need to do the analysis, hard work and make the difficult decisions of their executive job!
Where do consulting firms like Bain ($3,000,000 consultants) get their recommendations?
From interviewing the senior management that hired them and will be approving their monthly consultant fees and expense reports. Remember the nationally known auditing firm who said the right things and submitted recommendations that senior management wanted to hear and fooled government oversight agencies and the public?
Mr. Birgeneau's executive officer performance management responsibilities include "inspiring innovation and leading change." This involves "defining outcomes, energizing others at all levels and ensuring continuing commitment." Instead of demonstrating his capacity to fulfill his executive accountabilities, Mr. Birgeneau outsourced them. Doesn't he engage University of California and University of California Berkeley (UCB) people at all levels to help examine the budget and recommend the necessary trims? Hasn't he talked to Cornell and the University of North Carolina - which also hired Bain -- about best practices and recommendations that might apply to UCB cuts?
No wonder the faculty and staff are angry and suspicious. Three million dollars is a high price for Californians to pay when a knowledgeable ‘world-class’ Chancellor is not doing his job.
Please help save $3,000,000 for teaching our students and request that the UC President require the UCB Chancellor to fulfill his executive job accountabilities!
Milan Moravec ( Moravecglobal [at] astound.net ) 2453 Providence Ct
Walnut Creek Ca 94596-6454 925.457.8749
The UC President has a UCB Chancellor that should do the high paid job he is paid for instead of hiring an East Coast consulting firm to fulfill his responsibilities. ‘World class’ smart executives like Chancellor Birgeneau need to do the analysis, hard work and make the difficult decisions of their executive job!
Where do consulting firms like Bain ($3,000,000 consultants) get their recommendations?
From interviewing the senior management that hired them and will be approving their monthly consultant fees and expense reports. Remember the nationally known auditing firm who said the right things and submitted recommendations that senior management wanted to hear and fooled government oversight agencies and the public?
Mr. Birgeneau's executive officer performance management responsibilities include "inspiring innovation and leading change." This involves "defining outcomes, energizing others at all levels and ensuring continuing commitment." Instead of demonstrating his capacity to fulfill his executive accountabilities, Mr. Birgeneau outsourced them. Doesn't he engage University of California and University of California Berkeley (UCB) people at all levels to help examine the budget and recommend the necessary trims? Hasn't he talked to Cornell and the University of North Carolina - which also hired Bain -- about best practices and recommendations that might apply to UCB cuts?
No wonder the faculty and staff are angry and suspicious. Three million dollars is a high price for Californians to pay when a knowledgeable ‘world-class’ Chancellor is not doing his job.
Please help save $3,000,000 for teaching our students and request that the UC President require the UCB Chancellor to fulfill his executive job accountabilities!
Milan Moravec ( Moravecglobal [at] astound.net ) 2453 Providence Ct
Walnut Creek Ca 94596-6454 925.457.8749
Public universities are into a phase of creative disassembly where reinvention and adjustments are constant.. Even solid world class institutions like the University of California Berkeley under the leadership of Chancellor Birgeneau & Provost Breslauer are firing staff, faculty and part-time lecturers through “Operation Excellence (OE)”. Yet many employees, professionals and faculty cling to old assumptions about one of the most critical relationship of all: the implied, unwritten contract between employer and employee.
Until recently, loyalty was the cornerstone of that relationship. Employers promised work security and a steady progress up the hierarchy in return for employees fitting in, accepting lower wages, performing in prescribed ways and sticking around. Longevity was a sign of employer-employee relations; turnover was a sign of dysfunction. None of these assumptions apply today. Organizations can no longer guarantee employment and lifetime careers, even if they want to. UC Berkeley senior management paralyzed themselves with an attachment to “success brings success’ rather than “success brings failure’ and are now forced to break the implied contract with employees – a contract nurtured by management that the future can be controlled.
Jettisoned Cal employees are finding that the hard won knowledge, skills and capabilities earned while being loyal are no longer valuable in the employment market place.
What kind of a contract can employers and employees make with each other? The central idea is both simple and powerful: the job or position is a shared situation. Employers and employees face market and financial conditions together, and the longevity of the partnership depends on how well the for-profit or not-for-profit continues to meet the needs of customers and constituencies. Neither employer nor employee has a future obligation to the other. Organizations train people. Employees develop the kind of security they really need – skills, knowledge and capabilities that enhance future employability.
The partnership can be dissolved without either party considering the other a traitor.
Until recently, loyalty was the cornerstone of that relationship. Employers promised work security and a steady progress up the hierarchy in return for employees fitting in, accepting lower wages, performing in prescribed ways and sticking around. Longevity was a sign of employer-employee relations; turnover was a sign of dysfunction. None of these assumptions apply today. Organizations can no longer guarantee employment and lifetime careers, even if they want to. UC Berkeley senior management paralyzed themselves with an attachment to “success brings success’ rather than “success brings failure’ and are now forced to break the implied contract with employees – a contract nurtured by management that the future can be controlled.
Jettisoned Cal employees are finding that the hard won knowledge, skills and capabilities earned while being loyal are no longer valuable in the employment market place.
What kind of a contract can employers and employees make with each other? The central idea is both simple and powerful: the job or position is a shared situation. Employers and employees face market and financial conditions together, and the longevity of the partnership depends on how well the for-profit or not-for-profit continues to meet the needs of customers and constituencies. Neither employer nor employee has a future obligation to the other. Organizations train people. Employees develop the kind of security they really need – skills, knowledge and capabilities that enhance future employability.
The partnership can be dissolved without either party considering the other a traitor.
For more information:
http://Moravecglobal.com
LOYALTY IS DEAD UC BERKELEY CHANCELLOR BIRGENEAU, PROVOST BRESLEUR – SO GET USED TO IT
Public universities are into a phase of creative disassembly where reinvention and adjustments are constant. Even solid world class institutions like the University of California Berkeley under the leadership of Chancellor Birgeneau & Provost Breslauer are firing staff, faculty and part-time lecturers through “Operational Excellence (OE)”. Yet many employees, professionals and faculty cling to old assumptions about one of the most critical relationship of all: the implied, unwritten contract between employer and employee.
Until recently, loyalty was the cornerstone of that relationship. Employers promised work security and a steady progress up the hierarchy in return for employees fitting in, accepting lower wages, performing in prescribed ways and sticking around. Longevity was a sign of employer-employee relations; turnover was a sign of dysfunction. None of these assumptions apply today. Organizations can no longer guarantee employment and lifetime careers, even if they want to. UC Berkeley senior management paralyzed themselves with an attachment to “success brings success’ rather than “success brings failure’ and are now forced to break the implied contract with employees – a contract nurtured by management that the future can be controlled.
Jettisoned Cal employees are finding that the hard won knowledge, skills and capabilities earned while being loyal are no longer valuable in the employment market place.
What kind of a contract can employers and employees make with each other? The central idea is both simple and powerful: the job or position is a shared situation. Employers and employees face market and financial conditions together, and the longevity of the partnership depends on how well the for-profit or not-for-profit continues to meet the needs of customers and constituencies. Neither employer nor employee has a future obligation to the other. Organizations train people. Employees develop the kind of security they really need – skills, knowledge and capabilities that enhance future employability.
The partnership can be dissolved without either party considering the other a traitor.
Public universities are into a phase of creative disassembly where reinvention and adjustments are constant. Even solid world class institutions like the University of California Berkeley under the leadership of Chancellor Birgeneau & Provost Breslauer are firing staff, faculty and part-time lecturers through “Operational Excellence (OE)”. Yet many employees, professionals and faculty cling to old assumptions about one of the most critical relationship of all: the implied, unwritten contract between employer and employee.
Until recently, loyalty was the cornerstone of that relationship. Employers promised work security and a steady progress up the hierarchy in return for employees fitting in, accepting lower wages, performing in prescribed ways and sticking around. Longevity was a sign of employer-employee relations; turnover was a sign of dysfunction. None of these assumptions apply today. Organizations can no longer guarantee employment and lifetime careers, even if they want to. UC Berkeley senior management paralyzed themselves with an attachment to “success brings success’ rather than “success brings failure’ and are now forced to break the implied contract with employees – a contract nurtured by management that the future can be controlled.
Jettisoned Cal employees are finding that the hard won knowledge, skills and capabilities earned while being loyal are no longer valuable in the employment market place.
What kind of a contract can employers and employees make with each other? The central idea is both simple and powerful: the job or position is a shared situation. Employers and employees face market and financial conditions together, and the longevity of the partnership depends on how well the for-profit or not-for-profit continues to meet the needs of customers and constituencies. Neither employer nor employee has a future obligation to the other. Organizations train people. Employees develop the kind of security they really need – skills, knowledge and capabilities that enhance future employability.
The partnership can be dissolved without either party considering the other a traitor.
For more information:
http://Moravecglobal,com
EMPLOYEE FACULTY LOYALTY IS DEAD UC BERKELEY CHANCELLOR BIRGENEAU, PROVOST BRESLEUR, VC YEARY – SO GET USED TO IT Public universities like Cal are into a phase of creative disassembly where reinvention and adjustments are constant. Even solid world class institutions like the University of California Berkeley under the leadership of Chancellor Birgeneau & Provost Breslauer are firing employees, staff, faculty and part-time lecturers through “Operational Excellence (OE) initiative”: last year 600 were fired, this year 300. Yet many employees, professionals and faculty cling to old assumptions about one of the most critical relationship of all: the implied, unwritten contract between employer and employee.
Until recently, loyalty was the cornerstone of that relationship. Employers promised work security and a steady progress up the hierarchy in return for employees fitting in, accepting lower wages, performing in prescribed ways and sticking around. Longevity was a sign of employer-employee relations; turnover was a sign of dysfunction. None of these assumptions apply today. Organizations can no longer guarantee employment and lifetime careers, even if they want to. UC Berkeley senior management paralyzed themselves with an attachment to “success brings success’ rather than “success brings failure’ and are now forced to break the implied contract with Cal employees – a contract nurtured by management that the future can be controlled.
Jettisoned Cal employees are finding that the hard won knowledge, skills and capabilities earned while being loyal are no longer valuable in the employment market place.
What kind of a contract can employers and employees make with each other? The central idea is both simple and powerful: the job or position is a shared situation. Employers and employees face market and financial conditions together, and the longevity of the partnership depends on how well the for-profit or not-for-profit continues to meet the needs of customers and constituencies. Neither employer nor employee has a future obligation to the other. Organizations train people. Employees develop the kind of security they really need – skills, knowledge and capabilities that enhance future employability.
The partnership can be dissolved without either party considering the other a traitor.
Let there be light
Until recently, loyalty was the cornerstone of that relationship. Employers promised work security and a steady progress up the hierarchy in return for employees fitting in, accepting lower wages, performing in prescribed ways and sticking around. Longevity was a sign of employer-employee relations; turnover was a sign of dysfunction. None of these assumptions apply today. Organizations can no longer guarantee employment and lifetime careers, even if they want to. UC Berkeley senior management paralyzed themselves with an attachment to “success brings success’ rather than “success brings failure’ and are now forced to break the implied contract with Cal employees – a contract nurtured by management that the future can be controlled.
Jettisoned Cal employees are finding that the hard won knowledge, skills and capabilities earned while being loyal are no longer valuable in the employment market place.
What kind of a contract can employers and employees make with each other? The central idea is both simple and powerful: the job or position is a shared situation. Employers and employees face market and financial conditions together, and the longevity of the partnership depends on how well the for-profit or not-for-profit continues to meet the needs of customers and constituencies. Neither employer nor employee has a future obligation to the other. Organizations train people. Employees develop the kind of security they really need – skills, knowledge and capabilities that enhance future employability.
The partnership can be dissolved without either party considering the other a traitor.
Let there be light
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