Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Live Blogging the AlliedBarton/SEIU Negotiations
one day left...
its been really incredible to see how many new people have been joining the campaign in the recent days. we've been able to sustain daily actions and have a widespread group that is really putting a lot of time and dedication into this campaign.
Here are a few of us sitting on the steps of University Hall a few days ago, just trying to raise awareness and spread some information around campus.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Hunger Strike
Hunger Strike
When you first see them,
you see they are hunched slightly,
bent like bananas.
Their faces
lean, wrinkled aged beautifully
but their eyes
captured no light,
they didn't shine,
they weren't real.
Just beads,
like those of a toy.
Their eyes didn't scream pain intensely.
they were just sorta there.
And if i wanted to I could peel them off
their beautiful faces,
and roll them like bowling balls.
As I held their eyes in my hand,
I looked at them like crystal balls,
wanted to see how much longer
they could go on.
Their eyes told me
they were done.
Then they spoke.
Some voices quiet,
some voices loud,
all equally powerful.
They trembled with force,
passionately declared
"we're ready for another month!!
All we needed is each other
so bring it on, jack!
Cause we're not goin no where"
I dropped their eyes
as i realized that
the human spirit does not reside
in the eyes.
--------------------------
This time around I will not be participating in a 2 day solidarity fast, this time I will be the one fasting indefinitely. I know that after a few days I will seem weak, but I find solace in knowing that the fast can drain me of everything but my spirit.
Love,
José
Welcome to Stand for Security
Newly unionized Harvard security officers are in the process of bargaining their first contract. Harvard Stand for Security is a coalition dedicated to supporting officers in their contract negotiations. We believe that at the most prestigious and wealthy university in the world, it is shameful that workers are still lacking just wages, fair grievance procedures, and a safe and respectful work environment.
Harvard security officers work tirelessly to protect and serve our campus. If you believe that hardworking, full-time employees should be able to support their families, if you believe that everyone deserves dignity and respect at work, if you believe that secure employment should not be the luxury of the wealthy, then please join us in this campaign.Join the Campaign
We need your help! Sign up here to get involved in the campaign!
Sign the petition
Add your name to the petition and let the Harvard administration and AlliedBarton know that you support Harvard workers.
Stay up to date
Links
Websites
National Stand For Security Campaign
SEIU Local 615
Harvard Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM)
Harvard Living Wage Campaign (old)
Phillips Brooks House Association
American Rights at Work
Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Coca Cola in India
Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers
Jobs with Justice
Killer Coke
Living Wage Action Coalition
Student Farmworker Alliance
Student Labor Action Project
Sweat Shop Watch
United Students Against Sweatshops
United Students for Fair Trade
Unite Here Local 26
US Labor Education in the America
Workers' Rights Consortium
SEIU
Videos
Occupation - a film about the 2001 Harvard Sit-inSolidarity - as defined by the Colbert Report
Recent Interaction with the Harvard Administration
On April 27, 2007 the administration responded in a letter [pdf] from Marilyn Hausammann.
On April 30, 2007 we responded [pdf]. Our letter's conclusion is below:
In sum, the members and allies of the Student Labor Action Movement find the University's presently articulated stance on this issue to be unacceptable. If, as it claims, the University truly does support our "shared goals of fair wages, a safe and secure workplace, and a proper grievance procedure for all workers in the Harvard community," then its choice should be clear. The University must choose to renounce its position that it has "no employment relationship" with its security officers and other outsourced workers. It must intervene, as it has many times before, to ensure high labor standards on campus. If the University instead chooses to deny responsibility and allow AlliedBarton to neglect the rights of its employees, it will only demonstrate that the administration does not share our goals in the least.
Harvard may not have directly hired our security guards, but it did directly hire AlliedBarton, and in doing so assumed responsibility for their labor standards. Harvard must hire its subcontractors with the same moral standards with which it hires its direct employees. Anything short of such a position will merely perpetuate the administration’s current policy of evasive rhetoric, convenient exemptions, and moral loopholes. Harvard must send a clear and unambiguous message to AlliedBarton: "treat our security guards fairly, or we'll take our business elsewhere." If Harvard cannot come out and make such a clear and unambiguous statement of moral values by Thursday, May 3, we will hold firm in our promise to begin a hunger strike of indefinite length on that date.
Media Coverage
Boston City Council joins Harvard protest - 5/10/2007 - BostonNOW
Harvard Students On Hunger Strike - 5/9/2007 - NECN TV
Harvard Students Going Hungry For Security Guards - 5/9/2007 - WBZ TV
Harvard Students Hold Hunger Strike - 5/9/2007 - The Boston Channel (ABC 5)
Starving for Social Justice - 5/9/2007 - Campus Progress
With an endowment of $29.2B, $15 an hour is more than reasonable - 5/9/2007 - Pandagon
The Labor-Economics Thought of Professor N. Gregory Mankiw - 5/9/2007 - MaxSpeak, You Listen!
Hunger-striking Harvard soph hospitalized - 5/9/2007 - Boston Herald
Harvard student hospitalized during hunger strike - 5/8/2007 - Boston Globe
Hunger striker hospitalized - Negotiations still in proces - 5/8/2007 - BostonNOW
DemocracyNow! headlines for May 8, 2007 - 5/8/2007 - democracynow.org
Fifth Day of Hunger Strike: Harvard President’s Administration Vacates the Premises - 5/7/2007 - boston.indymedia.org
Harvard Jews Kick Ass - 5/7/2007 - jspot.org
Central High grad among Harvard hunger strikers - 5/5/2007 - news-leader.com
Hungerstreik in Harvard - 5/4/2007 - Spiegel Online (in German). [English translation]
Harvard Hunger Strike for Workers Rights - 5/4/2007 - BostonIndymedia
Harvard Students Rally for Campus Security Officers - 5/2/2007 - Photo gallery by Jonathan McIntosh
Harvard guards rally against low worker wages - 5/2/2007 - BostonNOW
Harvard group to fast in support of security guards - 4/26/2007 - Boston Herald
Harvard Crimson
Mass. Hall VPs To Meet with Protesters - 5/10/2007
University to meet with SLAM - 5/9/2007
Hungry for a Cause - 5/9/2007
Labor Protests Gain Momentum as University Pledges Audit - 5/8/2007
Veritas et Securitas - 5/7/2007 (editorial)
DISSENT: Striking a Blow Against Injustice - 5/7/2007 (editorial)
Harvard Will Not Intervene - 5/7/2007 (Op-Ed)
Students Launch Fast for Guards - 5/4/2007
Student's Fast for Guards - 4/27/2007
SLAM's Stand For Security (Op-Ed) - 4/23/2007
Students Rally for Workers - 4/5/2007
Guarding the Guards - 1/9/2007
For Guards, Union in Sight - 11/16/2006
At Rally, Security Guards Call for Unionization - 12/6/2006
Former Rep. Urges Guards to Organize - 10/26/2006
Harvard's Invisible Victims - 10/25/2006
Allied Security Guards Push for Unionization - 3/17/2006
Workers Demand Union, Better Contract - 9/30/2005
Contact Us
slam@hcs.harvard.edu
Mailing Address:
Student Labor Action Movement
Phillips Brooks House
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138
Directly Contact Students:
Matt Bosch
mbosch at fas.harvard.edu
626-241-5041
Austin Guest
aguest at fas.harvard.edu
831-917-6400
Jessica Ranucci
jranucci at fas.harvard.edu
317-490-3481
Rosa Norton
rnorton at fas.harvard.edu
210-347-1015
Resources
- Read our open letter to President Bok.
- Download our poster
- Download our quarter sheet flyer
- Read our letter to student organizations
- Get a paper copy of our petition
- Download our two-sided informational flyer
- More links
