3-Day CUE Statewide Strike of UC June 13-15

WHO ARE "CLERICALS" AT UC?  At UCSF, we are 3000 administrative assistants, library assistants, program & practice assistants, college & department advisers, secretaries, public safety dispatchers, childcare workers, cashiers, and more. The Coalition of University Employees (CUE) represents us.  The majority of us are women or people of color.  We are among the lowest paid workers at UC.
We will be going on strike starting Monday, June 13, 2005, which will result in reduced services for the UC community.  With $786 million in profit last year and over $5 billion in reserves, UC should not be raising student fees and paying workers poverty wages, so please join us in our common struggle.

What you can do:
Fax the offices of President Dynes (510)987-9173, Chancellor Bishop (415)476-9634 and CEO (MedCtr) Laret (415)353-2765 to say you support our demands and you will hold them responsible for any reduction in quality of services.
Do not cross the picket lines and join us on Parnassus Monday morning at 7:00 A.M.
To join our fight or see the Fact Finding Report, contact CUE at:(831) 420-0258 or go to: http://www.cueunion.org

Any updates?

I've been out there for 3 days---no word from UC--the Enron of public education--yet.
Several of us are talking about starting a committe to plan direct actions/civil disobedience----

by

Marburg monkey

In the heat of the Sacramento Valley UC Davis striking clerical workers rally and march outside demanding something besides a 0% pay raise..

UC Davis isn't unable to increase pay for clerical workers, the administration holds other priorities, usually benefitting the pharmaceutical corporation's research agenda that involves testing on kidnapped and captive primates..

It would be interesting to learn exactly how much money UC Davis spends on financing their Primate Research Center. Transportation and housing of primates in captivity is an everyday expense. The perimeter fence, isolated location and security costs are an indication of the dislike many people feel towards the continued research on captive primates despite evidence that the results obtained are usually inaccurate..

Then there's biotech corporations who also have their foot in the door at UC Davis. The research in the agricultural field is heavily influenced by biotech corporations like Monsanto and others. Despite funding from these corporations, there is still a net loss to the UC system when less expensive alternatives (permaculture) are ignored in favor of costly biotech research..

In the end these costly programs (biotech and primate research) harm both workers and low income students. Many services that would benefit students are discontinued/non-existent and workers recieve the lowest wages with 0% raise for decades. Administration gives themselves enough raises to increase the income gap between workers and management like never before..

Captive primates howl in solidarity at the UC Davis primate research center (Yolo County Road 98 and Hutchinson) longing to return to their rainforest homes..

more info on UCD California Regional Primate Research Center;

http://www.api4animals.org/1149.htm


"UC Davis Sued Over Primate Center Expansion
SACRAMENTO -- The Animal Protection Institute (API) & In Defense of Animals (IDA) filed a lawsuit Friday (January 4) seeking to block the proposed expansion of the California Regional Primate Research Center (CRPRC) at UC Davis.

In the complaint to the California Superior Court in Yolo County, API & IDA contend UCD's Environmental Impact Report (EIR) does not comply with required state environmental regulations. In that report, UCD acknowledges several "significant, unavoidable impacts" to the environment. The main points in challenging the EIR are UCD's failure to analyze the no-animal testing alternative, as well as its improper reliance on prior Environmental Impact Reports. API & IDA are asking the Court to set aside proposed Primate Center projects until UCD complies with CEQA regulations.

UCD is pushing to expand the Center's research & breeding programs, arguing it must meet an increased demand for animals in research. However, UCD admits in its EIR that the use of non-animal alternative research techniques is "environmentally superior," and maintains that animal experiments should only be authorized when all other alternatives have been exhausted, which has yet to be done. Yet UCD dismisses the no-animal testing alternative in favor of an alleged need for animal research. In reviewing the EIR, API & IDA found no clear justification to support the need for 750 additional rhesus macaque monkeys for invasive research, or the ability to provide adequate health care. Scientifically, it is nearly impossible to take data from experiments on one species and apply those results to members of other species. However, that "need" conspicuously coincides with large National Institutes of Health funds available for primate center expansion and animal-based experimentation.

"This is a time when a clear majority of the public desires a reduction in the number of primates used in research," says API Executive Director Alan Berger. "The certification of the Primate Center must be set aside and come into compliance with the law."

According to IDA President Elliot Katz, the lawsuit aims to delay expansion, but the intent is more reaching. "We are opposed to any expansion of the primate center, for it is time to reallocate funds from animal-based testing to non-animal testing," says Katz.

The Animal Protection Institute (API), a Sacramento-based national non-profit animal advocacy organization with 85,000 members, including 18,000 Californians, has expertise in rescuing & rehabilitating primates, operating a sanctuary which houses over 400 primates, many retired from research facilities. In Defense of Animals is also a national non-profit animal advocacy group, based in Mill Valley, with 80,000 members."

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