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The Day the University Ground to a Halt - April 14, 2005
On April 14, 2005 thousands of students and workers at UC Santa Cruz shut down the campus in a coordinated statewide strike by low-paid service workers in AFSCME 3299. The strike, organized by AFSCME, clerical workers in the Coalition of University Employees (CUE), T.A.s in the United Auto Workers (UAW), students in the Student and Worker Coalition for Justice (SWCJ) and others, was one of the biggest actions UCSC has seen in recent years and led to a new, better contract for AFSCME workers within two weeks.
CUE, which walked out on April 14 in solidarity with AFSCME, later held their own 2-day strike, but it was after students had left for the summer and they missed out on much of the momentum. They later got a new contract, although they bargained away their right to solidarity strikes, one of the key elements that made April 14 a success. UPTE, made up of researchers, also went on strike in May of 2005, yet hadn't built a working relationship with student activists like AFSCME and CUE had, so it was not particularly successful.
April 14 was part of what The Project newspaper called "the spring insurrection" of 2005, which roughly began when students kicked military recruiters off campus on April 5 and included the night of April 18 when administrators bussed in dozens of Berkeley riot cops in a pre-planned assault on students organizing Tent University. Administrators openly acknowledge that the police response to Tent U. was an effort to reassert the control they had lost in the past weeks and send a message to the university that they wouldn't tolerate any more militant actions.
April 14 should be remembered as the day the university ground to a halt. It shows the power that students and workers have if they have concrete demands, solid strategies and a long-term vision for a united university run from the bottom up. April 14 was the result of years of organizing by the unions (particularly AFSCME), as well as students and a few profs engaged in labor solidarity. It shouldn't be seen as some spontaneous event, but as the product of the anger, empowerment, and hope that many in the community felt.
These are my previously unpublished photos and thoughts as a student organizer.
CUE, which walked out on April 14 in solidarity with AFSCME, later held their own 2-day strike, but it was after students had left for the summer and they missed out on much of the momentum. They later got a new contract, although they bargained away their right to solidarity strikes, one of the key elements that made April 14 a success. UPTE, made up of researchers, also went on strike in May of 2005, yet hadn't built a working relationship with student activists like AFSCME and CUE had, so it was not particularly successful.
April 14 was part of what The Project newspaper called "the spring insurrection" of 2005, which roughly began when students kicked military recruiters off campus on April 5 and included the night of April 18 when administrators bussed in dozens of Berkeley riot cops in a pre-planned assault on students organizing Tent University. Administrators openly acknowledge that the police response to Tent U. was an effort to reassert the control they had lost in the past weeks and send a message to the university that they wouldn't tolerate any more militant actions.
April 14 should be remembered as the day the university ground to a halt. It shows the power that students and workers have if they have concrete demands, solid strategies and a long-term vision for a united university run from the bottom up. April 14 was the result of years of organizing by the unions (particularly AFSCME), as well as students and a few profs engaged in labor solidarity. It shouldn't be seen as some spontaneous event, but as the product of the anger, empowerment, and hope that many in the community felt.
These are my previously unpublished photos and thoughts as a student organizer.
SC-IMC's original feature on the April 14, 2005 strike:
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/feature/display/17077/index.php
My April 5, 2005 remembrance posts
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/04/05/18389854.php
and
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/04/10/18142201.php
SC-IMC's original feature on Tent U:
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/feature/display/17083/index.php
There have been short films made on both April 14 and Tent University. The April 14 film was made by SWCJ members Kyle Gleason and David Zlutnick, "Solidarity Films." It's not available online. The Tent U film, "To Protect and Serve," received tens of thousands of views nationally:
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/newswire/display/17436/index.php
I write this post because I firmly believe that all of us at UC Santa Cruz should remember April 14 each year. Those in power have done and will do whatever they can to try and make us forget the days when we took our lives into our own hands. We owe it to ourselves to remember.
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/feature/display/17077/index.php
My April 5, 2005 remembrance posts
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/04/05/18389854.php
and
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/04/10/18142201.php
SC-IMC's original feature on Tent U:
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/feature/display/17083/index.php
There have been short films made on both April 14 and Tent University. The April 14 film was made by SWCJ members Kyle Gleason and David Zlutnick, "Solidarity Films." It's not available online. The Tent U film, "To Protect and Serve," received tens of thousands of views nationally:
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/newswire/display/17436/index.php
I write this post because I firmly believe that all of us at UC Santa Cruz should remember April 14 each year. Those in power have done and will do whatever they can to try and make us forget the days when we took our lives into our own hands. We owe it to ourselves to remember.
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as someone who was not there, not yet attending UCSC, but who heard about the strike, it added tremendously to have such vivid pictures in your account of April 14th. thanks josh!
and great photojournalism. This was indeed a high point in recent labor history on the Central Coast. However, we still need to push for higher wages. I think it will be critical to get the nonunion positions to switch to union representation. The school could not cope if they had a full walk out. Don't give up on strategy, people.
you cant see the whole thing online but you can watch the trailer at mediainsurgente.com
or on youtube.com
or on youtube.com
For more information:
http://mediainsurgente.com
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