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AFSCME on Strike: Support Service and Patient Care Workers!

by UAW-QUAD
Service workers and patient care workers at UC (represented by AFSCME 3299) will go on strike on June 4th and 5th. That means campus will be shut down on those days. It also means that you have to make a choice: will you stand in solidarity with fellow university employees?

On this page, you can find information about why you should support AFSCME and resources to help express your solidarity. Check it out, and when you're done, don't forget to sign the pledge not to cross the picket lines on June 4 - 5.

afscme_9-27-07.jpg

Why you should support AFSCME

families_9-27-07.jpg There are many reasons that you should support AFSCME. We give just a few of them here:

Their cause is just: The basic demand that AFSCME is making is very simple: equal pay for equal work. UC patient care and service workers are paid on average 25% less than workers doing comparable work at other medical centers and community colleges.

The University of California is one of the richest and most powerful corporations in the world, but it refuses to pay decent wages to its employees. Many AFSCME workers struggle to support a family on $10/hour wages, or take second and third jobs to make ends meet. UC refuses to pay them a living wage, while at the same time they found $9,000,000 for renovations to the UC Presidential mansion.

There's strength in unity: AFSCME workers are employed by the same corporation -- the University of California -- which fights us tooth and nail every time our contract is renegotiated. The outcome of AFSCME's struggle is extremely important for establishing the tone and atmosphere that we'll deal with when we start bargaining for a new contract next year.

If you've been a UAW member for one or two (or more) contract cycles, you know that UC won't give up anything without a fight and an application of serious pressure, both from our members and from other UC unions. If we help AFSCME win a stronger contract right now, they will be in a stronger position to help us next time we're facing off with UC.

They've helped us before: Of course, that talk about help with applying pressure on UC is not just abstract. AFSCME has helped us when we've negotiated before. They've come to our rallies, helped us reach students and other members of the campus community, and done whatever else we asked them to do.

AFSCME has practiced concrete solidarity with us before. Now we have a responsibility to do the same for them.

No Paycuts

A UCSC student has produced a short documentary in which AFSCME workers explain in their own voices why they're fighting for a fair contract. Check it out right here.

What you can do to help

Right now, the most useful thing you can do is to educate yourself about this situation, and talk to other people, especially other ASEs. You can use the documents and information on this page to get started. Another great resource is AFSCME's homepage, available here.

You can also get involved with UAW-QUAD on your campus. The best way to do this is to talk to a UAW-QUAD member that you know. You can also contact us using our website contact form. And you can join the Facebook group ASEs for AFSCME to stay connected to the struggle.

AFSCME hopes that a strike can be averted. But if they are forced to strike, we have some simple advice for how you can support AFSCME:

Dos and Don'ts for ASEs: Your guide to the AFSCME strike

And don't forget to sign the pledge:

I won't cross the picket lines!

Analysis and information

Who calls the shots at UC? Even the UC administration itself might not be able to answer that question. But you can read our exploration here:

Meet the UC administration

Here are some documents that may also be of interest:

Ernie and Maria

Resources

NB: Examine these documents carefully before reproducing them in large quantities, as layouts can shift significantly from one computer to another. In addition, some of these documents are tailored for use at Santa Cruz. If you need a document changed for your campus (or better yet -- if you have your own altered version that you'd like to see posted on this page), contact us here.

STRIKE POSTPONED*

State Board Orders Us Back To Bargaining Table Because UC claims they have more to offer

5/29/08:

UC is very worried about the 2 day strike called by patient care and service workers and planned for June 4th and 5th, and went to the State Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to try to stop it.

UC claims they have more to offer at the bargaining table. PERB has ordered us back to the table for more negotiations. UC also told PERB we are essential to making UC run and our jobs are too important for us to strike.

If UC truly believes we are essential, their proposals must include equal pay for equal work!

*While AFSCME believes we’ve reached impasse, we’ll return to the bargaining table to continue our efforts to reach agreement and avoid a strike.

June 4th: Statewide Day of Action (in lieu of strike)
20,000 AFSCME Workers will not back down!
We are determined to win a contract that will help our patients, students & families.

Join us for picketing and actions on every campus and medical center across the state.

Contact your MAT leader, strike captain or organizer for specific schedules & more information.

AFSCME 3299: Taking Back UC
for Patients, Students and Our Families!
888-856-3299 http://www.afscme3299.org" http://www.afscme3299.org

http://www.afscme3299.org

§Update
by via uaw-quad.org

Important update: AFSCME's strike (planned for June 4 - 5) has been postponed indefinitely. We have a brief recap of the story behind the postponement available -- read it here. Nevertheless, the struggle for a fair contract for service workers and patient care workers continues, and our solidarity with AFSCME is needed now as much as ever.

Keep an eye on this page and on our blog to find out about new developments and about how you can help build solidarity with AFSCME.

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