Story from today's Herald on the contract.

University of Miami janitors avoid a strike

The University of Miami's janitors threatened to strike again, but agreed to a new contract at the last minute.

University of Miami janitors are demanding a cost-of-living pay increase or they will strike. Here, Hector Riera cleans glass doors on campus on Tuesday, August 31, 2010.

AL DIAZ / MIAMI HERALD STAFF

• Photo

BY MICHAEL VASQUEZ

mrvasquez@MiamiHerald.com

Averting another strike at the last minute, janitors and landscapers at the University of Miami struck a new labor contract Tuesday night that provides for cost-of-living increases while improving employee benefits such as sick days and vacation time.

At around 9 p.m. Tuesday, the eve of a potential janitor's strike, the Service Employees International Union, which represents the workers, agreed to terms with university contractor UGL Unicco Services.

The tentative three-year agreement, which still must be ratified by the workers themselves, provides a 7.5 percent wage increase over the next three years to UM's nearly 400 janitors and landscapers. The deal also improves benefits, including sick days and holidays, and increases employer contributions to the healthcare fund up to 23 percent.

For UM President Donna Shalala and other school administrators, the agreement also neutralizes an issue that has proven quite controversial in the past. In 2006, prior to forming a union, UM's cleanup workers created a national media storm by protesting their low wages and lack of health insurance through a months-long labor strike that also grew to include hunger strikes.

Earlier this week, as the expiration of the janitors' current contract grew closer, it appeared another clash over wages was imminent. On Monday, dozens of UM students and faculty participated in a rally in support of the janitors, concluding with a letter being delivered to Shalala's office.

``Students are really responsive because they have heard about this issue before,'' said UM senior Stephanie Sandhu, who participated in the rally.

Shalala played a crucial role in securing higher wages and health insurance for the workers in 2006, although for five straight years before that, she took a more hands-off approach. UM has long prided itself on the cleanliness and beauty of its lushly-landscaped Coral Gables campus.

DISPARITIES

Technically speaking, the janitors don't work for UM, they work for Unicco -- a murky arrangement that leads to disparities such as janitors earning less vacation time than is given to actual UM employees. Janitors earn two weeks of paid vacation after five years' employment, for example, while UM employees only have to put in two years to receive that perk.

As part of their demands, the janitors sought the same vacation schedule as official UM employees. They didn't achieve that, but they did make substantial gains -- qualifying for three weeks vacation after eight years instead of 10, and gaining Martin Luther King Jr. day as an additional paid holiday. Personal days were increased from three to four.

One thing workers asked for and didn't get: a 30-minute break when working outside in temperatures above 100 degrees.

Though UM doesn't directly pay its janitors, pressure from the university can significantly affect Unicco's posture in negotiating with its workers.

Publicly at least, Shalala showed no interest in wading into the thorny issue for a second time. The letter delivered to her office this week asked for a presidential statement in support of the janitors' cause, but no such statement has been made. Nor did Shalala respond to a Miami Herald request for comment relayed through a university spokeswoman.

NATIONAL FIGURE

The janitors' strike four years ago sparked a torrent of negative media coverage for UM, as media outlets across the country were drawn to the issue -- in part because Shalala, a former U.S. secretary of health and human services, is a national figure.

Though Shalala was repeatedly blamed for not doing more -- sooner -- to help the janitors, union organizers were also faulted during the months-long standoff.

The union praised this latest agreement as ``an important victory for our members and for all the working families of Miami.''

Contract agreed on - strike averted!

Great news! The UM janitors and groundskeepers have agreed on a contract with UNICCO. No strike. Here's the press release from SEIU:

CLEANERS AND LANDSCAPERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI REACH NEW CONTRACT WITH WAGE HIKES AND IMPROVED BENEFITS

– New Contract Averts Strike at UM Campus and Hospital –

Coral Gables, FL—Nearly 400 cleaners and landscapers at the University of Miami reached a tentative three-year agreement this evening that provides 7.5% in wage increases over the next three years, maintains employer-paid health care coverage and improves sick days and vacation time.

“In a tough economic environment the workers who keep UM clean and beautiful are moving closer to the middle class, securing benefits and gaining wage increases that will help our community prosper,” said Eric Brakken, Director of 32BJ SEIU Florida. “The contract is an important victory for our members and for all the working families of Miami.”

The three-year agreement between 32BJ and UNICCO improves benefits, including sick days, holidays and increases employer contributions to the health care fund up to 23%.

“I am happy for this agreement,” said Clara Vargas, who has been working at UM for more than 8 years. “Now I can continue helping my son finish his studies and put food on the table.”

The deal was reached at 9:00 PM between the Boston based contractor UNICCO and 32BJ SEIU and will be presented to the workers for ratification.

Cleaners and landscapers gained wage increases and improved benefits in their second union contract, the first one was ratified in the spring of 2006 after a nine-week strike because of unfair labor practices, substandard pay, lack of health benefits and workplace safety issues. The strike ended with recognition of the workers’ union, which ultimately led to a union contract that increased wages and provided health care and other benefits.

With more than 120,000 members, including cleaners, landscapers, security officers and laundry workers in South Florida, 32BJ is the largest property service workers union in the country.

UM students rally as janitors prepare to strike over wages

From the New Times, by Tom Elfrink:

Four years ago, the 400 janitors who keep the University of Miami's campus clean went on a lengthy hunger strike and inspired two months of student protests in a fierce battle to earn a fair living wage. Looks like round two might be right around the corner.

The janitors are poised to strike again unless a last-minute deal is struck tomorrow over a cost-of-living increase. Meanwhile, dozens of students and faculty are protesting in support outside the student center this afternoon. "We just want a better life for our families," Maria Isabel Angel, a 57-year-old cleaner, tells Riptide.

In 2006, the janitors voted to join the Service Employees International Union and then went on strike when Unicco -- the contractor employed by the university -- refused to meet their demands for a wage increase and health benefits.

Everyone from pre-scandalicious John Edwards to national Teamsters presidents came to UM to support the janitors, who eventually won 25 percent raises and benefits and were allowed to elect their own union reps.

That contract expires tomorrow, and Unicco and the janitors are again at odds.

Eugenio Villasante, a spokesman for SEIU, declined to discuss the exact terms the cleaners are seeking. But he says Miami has seen an 8.2 percent cost-of-living increase since the last contract was negotiated and that workers expect their health benefits to continue.

The university declined to discuss the ongoing negotiations, releasing instead a brief statement: "The University of Miami is aware that contract negotiations have begun between UNICCO and SEIU. The University has every confidence that the parties involved will reach a successful resolution."

Angel, who cleans the eighth floor of a medical research center, says she's supporting an unemployed husband and helping her son pay for college. She earns $9.05 an hour and says she can't keep up with her bills.

"We're trying to get this increase because the cost of living is very expensive in Miami," she says. "We'd like to have a better salary for a better life."

A group of students and faculty planned to gather at lunchtime today to support the janitors and then deliver a letter to Donna Shalala, the university president, says Stephanie Sandhu, one of the student organizers. "As inflation goes up, you have to have an increase or you'll be left at a poverty level," she says.

The two sides will meet again tomorrow morning, Villasante says. If no one budges, the strike could begin soon thereafter.

Yesterday's rally: smile, you're on TV

Story with short TV clip on yesterday's rally at the Rock.

Text of letter to President Shalala signed by students and faculty

August 30^th, 2010

President Donna Shalala:

We really appreciate your leadership moving the University of Miami forwards to becoming an “Ivy of the South”. As students, we have really enjoyed our university experience, and we are especially proud of your decisions to support the janitors and landscapers who maintain our campus. As students embarking to make a positive impact, we recognize our own histories of working class citizens in the United States. We would like to continue to provide the same opportunities to the workers of today that our own ancestors strove for when they entered the country: to have a living wage above the poverty line. We know you agree that citizens who are able to manage his or her basic necessities can focus on other important endeavors: preparing for times of crisis, spending time with family, and accumulating personal and financial resources to provide for the education of further generations. It is this window of opportunity that we wish to keep open, the same window that our forefathers (and mothers!) diligently strove to climb through.

The UM Janitor and Landscaping worker’s current contract with UNICCO will expire on August 31st, 2010 and we as students are concerned. The initial contract proposal put forth by UNICCO completely ignores the basic requests of these hardworking employees and does not account for the increasing cost of living in Miami. We appreciate the efforts UNICCO workers put into maintaining our beautiful campus all year long and we firmly support the workers as they attempt to negotiate a fair contract. Considering you have a strong history of supporting the students and employees of the University of Miami, we expect you do as well. We are asking you to please publicly and vocally support the worker’s basic requests. Not only would the workers and students greatly appreciate your support, but you influence would have a tremendous impact. We thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

University of Miami Students and Faculty

Report on today's rally

Today, Monday August 30th, S.T.A.N.D. (Students Towards a New Democracy) organized a rally on the UM campus in support of janitors and groundskeepers whose contract expires tomorrow. Currently, the workers' attempts to get a small raise, not to fall below the poverty line, and to achieve a few safety measures, are being rebuffed by UNICCO, the subcontractor who employs them.

The rally, attended by about a hundred students, workers and faculty, began at noon today and included impassioned speeches from a number of workers about their desire for a living wage and safe working conditions.



Then, a large delegation of students, workers and faculty went to deliver a letter to President Shalala, asking for her help on behalf of the workers.


We found access to the Ashe building being controlled by police!


At first we were told that we would not be allowed in to deliver the letter. Finally, it was agreed that the students, but not the workers or faculty, could deliver the letter to President Shalala while the rest of us waited outside.


The letter was delivered, and the delegation returned to thunderous applause!

Rally for the UM workers on Monday August 30th

A message from STAND (Students Towards a New Democracy):

History shows UM administrators will support the UM Janitor and Landscaping workers if the Students and Faculty speak up! -The last day of contract negotiations is this Tuesday, and the workers are planning to go on strike if their basic requests aren't met - Let's show enough campus support on Monday at 12pm (the Rock) for the workers so contract negotiations start going better! - Please tell your students and other faculty

Join University of Miami Janitor and Landscaping Workers for a Speak Out and Letter Delivery

We don’t want wages below the poverty line on our campus!

Monday, August 30th 12:00 am
The Rock (Across from UM's UC Bookstore)

We will speak out in appreciation of our Janitor and Landscaping Workers and hear from the workers firsthand why a good contract is so important for them to survive. The initially offered contract froze the pay/benefits of these hardworking employees when the cost of food, housing, and everyday items in Miami is up more than 9% since the last contract was negotiated. Use your UM Voice and hold our administration accountable! We will be delivering a Letter to Donna Shalala asking her to support the workers requests afterward. (Cost of Living Wage increase, safety regulations, the same vacation days as faculty/staff, Health benefits, Job Seniority) University of Miami students, faculty and workers fought hard to win the living wage four years ago, let’s make sure it is here to stay!

For more information contact: standuniversityofmiami@gmail.com

UM faculty member talks to a UM janitor

(From Giovanna Pompele:)

UM janitor i am not familiar with sees me wearing SEIU purple bracelet and brightens up. in entirely ridiculous spanish i say, "i'm with you in this!" in perfect english, janitor replies, "thank you."

she comes to me looking crestfallen. she says, "they are taking away seniority. do you know what that means? that they can do anything they want with us. i've been working here for 23 years."

she says, "i'm sick and HIV positive, but they won't let me take sick leave even with a doctor's note. they force me to take family leave."

she says, "look at all these students. if they understood, if they spoke up, things would change very rapidly."

she says, "they always take money away from the most poor."

Update from SEIU on contract negotiations

SEIU spokesperson informs that talks between the union and UNICCO over a new contract for UM janitors and groundskeepers are over for the week, but the parties are still far apart on wages and time off.

Workers will be leafleting at Stanford and US1 to let folks know that with living in Miami on a starting wage of $9.05 is becoming harder and harder.

Blocked ad

Here is the text of an ad that was rejected (by the Board of Student Publications, not by the editorial staff of the Hurricane) for publication in the Hurricane, the student newspaper at UM:

We are nearly 400 cleaners and landscapers who keep the campus of UM clean and comfortable for students and faculty. We work hard every day but many of us can barely make it on $9.05 an hour.

We have been negotiating a new contract with the company UNICCO, but their wages freeze proposal is unacceptable. Food, rent, childcare… all are on the rise and our wages should rise too. Our proposal is fair and affordable and would help us to provide for our families.

We want to keep serving the campus but if left with no other option we may have to stop working as soon as September 1st. A strike would be hard for all, workers and students alike. We hope you understand if we have to stop working to protect our families and our future.

Proposals and counter-proposals

Here is a summary of the proposals by the UM janitors and groundskeepers and the responses to them from UNICCO. Click on image to enlarge.

Today, at the Episcopal Church.....

UM workers vote to authorize the bargaining committee to strike!

Deja Vu All Over Again: Four Years On.

Four years ago, workers janitors and grounds-keepers at the University of Miami, employed by the subcontractor UNICCO, went on strike to be allowed to form a union. After a long hunger strike, and with the support of students, faculty, clergy and local politicians, UNICCO agreed to recognize their membership in the SEIU. A four-year contract, with a living wage and a number of improvements in working conditions, was negotiated.

That was four years ago. Now the contract is up for renegotiation. The bargaining team for the workers have made a number of proposals for the new contract which have been rejected out of hand by UNICCO. Among these proposals are: 1) a new four-year contract; 2) a very modest 75c per hour wage increase to help offset the 9% increase in the cost of living in the last four years; 3) improved safety for workers at night; and 4) mandated rest periods for grounds-keepers when the temperature is above 100F. A further post will reproduce a more extensive list of the proposals.

Today, at the Venerable Bede Episcopal Church, the workers rallied and voted to authorize the bargaining team to call for a strike if a new contract is not agreed on by September 1st.

The strike four years ago was a harrowing experience for all concerned: the workers, students, faculty, and administrators. It is our fervent hope that another strike will not be necessary. But we are reviving this blog to provide information of developments and support for the workers. Should a contract be renegotiated successfully in the next couple of weeks, we will gladly lapse into quiescence again.

Watch this space!

Si se puede!

Story of today's vote on CBS

"Cleanup and landscape crews OK to strike" CBS 4 TV

SEIU Press Release concerning Contract Renegotiations at UM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, August 5, 2010

CLEANERS, LANDSCAPERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI REJECT PROPOSAL FOR NEW CONTRACT

– 4 Years Ago Workers Won First Union Contract after a 9-Week Strike –

Miami Beach, FL—Contract talks between the cleaners and groundskeepers at the University of Miami and the Boston based UNICCO remained far apart today as the cleaning contractor put forth unfair and unacceptable freezes on wages, health care, and other benefits that the nearly 400 workers and their families rely on to make ends meet.

“The cleaners and landscapers who keep the University of Miami clean cannot accept a wage freeze when the cost of living in Miami keeps going up,” said Eric Brakken, Florida Director of 32BJ. “We must make sure that working people can live in the city where they work.”

In the four years since the last contract, the consumer price index in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area jumped an 8.2 percent. The cost of housing, food and other everyday items is up more than 9 percent.

“We need these raises to be able to live in this expensive city,” says Guido Fluriel, a cleaner who works at the Sylvester Cancer Center at the University of Miami. “Times are tough and the cost of living is still going up.”

The bargaining committee, represented by 32BJ SEIU, is looking for fair wage increases, maintained health care coverage and more paid sick days in the new contract. Under the current contract, the workers receive employer-paid health care, and the starting wages for cleaners are $9.05 an hour, but despite the increasing cost of living in Miami, UNICCO’s proposal offered an across the board wages and benefits freeze.

In the spring of 2006, cleaners at the University of Miami held a nine-week strike because of substandard pay, lack of health benefits and workplace safety issues. The strike ended with recognition of the workers’ union, which ultimately led to a union contract that increased wages and provided health care and other benefits.

With more than 120,000 members in eight states and Washington, D.C., including South Florida, 32BJ is the largest property services union in the country.

Press links concerning the UM janitors contract renogiation (2010)

"UM janitors avoid a strike" Miami Herald 9/1/10

"Faculty, students rally for UM workers" WSVN TV 8/31/10

"UM students rally as janitors prepare to strike over wages" New Times 8/30/10

"S.T.A.N.D. and RAK speak out" Miami Hurricane 8/29/10

"UM workers reengage the struggle" Political Affairs 8/24/10

"Workers authorize strike against UNICCO" Miami Hurricane 8/23/10

"UM employees to negotiate contract" WSVN TV 8/23/10

"University of Miami cleaners, landscapers vote in favor of strike" Miami Herald 8/22/10

"University of Miami cleaners and landscapers will strike if demands aren't met" Examiner.com 8/22/10

"UM cleaners, landscapers authorize strike" Miami Herald 8/21/10

Miami Herald Announces the Rally of Aug 21st

Here's a link the Miami Herald story in advance of today's rally.

Press links concerning the UM janitors strike (2006)

"Shalala says UM will not demand union election" CBS 4 TV 4/23/06

"Janitors end hunger strike at UM - protest continues" CBS 4 TV 4/22/06

"SEIU president Andy Stern to join hunger strikers in Miami" Alternet 4/21/06

"Strike at U. Miami raises local concerns" The Dartmouth 4/21/06

"Surprise" Miami Sun Post 4/20/06

"Let workers decide" Sun Sentinel 4/19/06

"UM student hunger strike hits eighth day" CBS 4 TV 4/19/06

"Let poor workers unionize to attain American Dream" Miami Herald 4/18/06

"Anger Rises on Both Sides of Strike at UM" New York Times 4/18/06

"Union leader finds the spotlight" Miami Herald 4/16/06

"Hunger Strike at UM Enters Second Week" Coral Gables Gazette 4/15/06

"Ex-Aide to Clinton at Center of Labor Dispute" New York Sun 4/14/06

"Who's Really Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place" Yahoo 4/14/06

"Students join in UM workers' hunger strike" NBC6 4/12/06

"Two Workers Hospitalized During Hunger Strike at UM" NBC6 4/10/06

"UM janitors promise hunger strike" CBS 4 TV 4/4/06

"Protesters occupy UM building" Miami Sun Post 3/30/06

"Janitors, students force U of Miami to talk" People's Weekly World 3/30/06

"Striking UM janitors invisible no longer" Miami Herald 3/29/06

"Students End UM Sit-In Supporting Janitors' Strike" CBS 4 TV 3/29/06

"UM students state sit-in to support school's janitors" Miami Herald 3/28/06

"Miami students support striking janitors with university sit-in" AP 3/28/06

"Nova enters janitor pay controversy" Miami Herald 3/22/06

"UM janitors agreement sets positive precedent" CBS 4 TV 3/21/06

"Shalala took the first step; who will follow?" Miami Herald 3/18/06

"UM's low-wage workers to get pay raises, benefits" Orlando Sentinel 3/18/06

"UM: Janitors to receive pay raise" The South Florida Business Journal 3/17/06

"Striking workers at UM to get raise" Miami Herald 3/17/06

Interview on Democracy Now 3/16/06

"UM janitors on strike take message to Star Island" NBC 3/16/06

"Strike is ill-advised, disruptive, just plain wrong" Miami Herald 3/15/06

"Strike is about hope for healthcare and better pay" Miami Herald 3/15/06

"Union gives $500,000 to striking UM janitors" Miami Herald 3/13/06

"UM considers meeting over janitors strike" Miami Herald 3/11/06

"Healthcare concerns need new focus: UM" Miami Herald 3/11/06

"Shalala to push for Haiti's health" Miami Herald 3/11/06

"Union delays expanding UM strike to Miami International Airport" Miami Herald 3/9/06

"Workers Protest at Univ. of Miami" The Harvard Crimson 3/8/06

"Priest Offers to Mediate UM Strike" Miami Herald 3/6/06

"UM Students/ Faculty March with Striking UNICCO Workers to Protest Unfair Labor Practices" Indymedia 3/5/06 (with video of march)

"Support Growing for Striking UM Janitors" CBS 4 TV News 3/5/06

"A Growing Force in Shalala's Home Garden" Miami Herald 3/4/06

"UM Janitors' Strike Turns Park into Classroom" Miami Herald 3/3/06

"Campus Janitors Go on Strike" The Ledger 3/2/06

"While Shalala Lives in Luxury, Janitors Struggle" Miami Herald 3/1/06

"For Donna Shalala, Nice Digs, Lousy Timing" Washington Post 2/22/06 (scroll to 2nd story on page)

fisher island busser fired for demonstrating with union

in today's miami herald

Posted on Sun, May. 13, 2007

Fantasy Island is anything but for its workers

By ANA MENENDEZ

''Live as the Vanderbilts did, only better.'' That's the motto of Fisher Island, the reality-free zone off the coast of Miami Beach whose marketing describes it as a ``residential community of unrivaled luxury and splendor.''

Fisher Island floats in a world of its own. Rich, inaccessible and exclusive, it has just become the perfect fantasy island of opportunity for union organizers.

SEIU, the union that helped secure healthcare and higher wages for University of Miami janitors last year, has taken up the cause of the workers who keep Fisher Island splendorous.

A week ago, the union helped organize a protest near the ferry terminal off the MacArthur Causeway. And Friday, SEIU filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of a worker who says he was fired for his union support.

OUT OF A JOB

The worker, Jose Rojas had been a busser at the Café Porto Cervo since 2000, he told me Friday. He made $6 an hour plus tips, and though he could pay the $63 bi-weekly insurance, many of his colleagues could not afford to include their children on the plan.

So he took part in the protest outside the terminal May 4.

''I knew it was going to be a problem,'' he said. ''But I thought if I had the chance to get better benefits, I had the right to try.'' When he got to work later that afternoon, a supervisor began to make disparaging remarks, he says.

''He told me I looked like a delinquent and that 'unions are for blacks,''' Rojas said. ``I told him, you can disagree with unions, but there's no need to say that.''

Wednesday, Rojas says he was fired for ''disrespecting'' his superior.

Café management declined comment Friday. Café Porto Cervo, like most of Fisher Island, is off limits to the uninitiated. The Fisher Island website says the café was ''inspired by a superb restaurant in Costa Smeralda, Sardinia.'' A friend tried to make reservations for us Friday night, only to be told it was for members only.

Friday afternoon, I drove to the terminal, hoping to get onto the island to interview Fisher Island Club general manager John Iannotti. I waited in my car while a ferry docked and workers graciously sprayed the disembarking Mercedes and BMWs with water. My car could have benefited from a similar baptism. Alas, I was turned around before I could board the ferry, told that Iannotti was too busy to see me.

His secretary forwarded a statement: ``Even though a charge has been filed, we feel it has no merit and we will vigorously defend it. No further comment.''

POWERFUL METAPHOR

Fisher Island, with its cartoonish wealth, may seem too easy a target. But it's a powerful metaphor for a society where the rich grow more comfortable, the poor sink further and the elected do nothing. For proof, see the property tax hysteria, where legislators sought to appease voters by hiking the sales tax -- the one tax that disproportionally affects the poor.

SEIU has made unprecedented gains across the south by emphasizing the ballooning disparity between rich and poor. Union organizers have succeeded not by duping ''unsophisticated'' workers, but because those workers know they are being duped by a system that promises opportunity and delivers only deeper inequality.

''This is the richest country in the world,'' said Rabbi Rebecca Lillian at a gathering Friday. ``Why do we even have a category called the working poor?''

Unions may not be the solution everyone wants. But its leaders are addressing issues that few others have the courage to touch.

free haleh esfandiari

from laila lalami's excellent blog:

As you may have heard, Iranian-American scholar Haleh Esfandiari, the director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, has been detained in Iran. She had traveled to the country of her birth to visit her 93-year-old mother. She was on her way to Tehran's international airport on December 30, when masked gunmen stopped her taxi and stole her belongings, including her Iranian and U.S. passports. She was then effectively under house arrest for four months, and then on May 8 she was taken to the notorious Evin Prison, where political prisoners are held and sometimes tortured. There have been no news of her since she was taken there. Please sign the petition for her release. More info about her here.

juan cole weighs on this important issue too.

UN official urges US to protect migrant rights

thanks to jeanette smith of miami quakers for keeping me and others up to date on immigration issues.

U.N. official urges U.S. to protect migrant rights

The Associated Press
Friday, May 18, 2007

WASHINGTON: A United Nations human rights expert urged the United States on Friday to enforce polices to protect the rights of migrants, as he wrapped up a nearly three-week U.S. tour focusing on the plight of migrants.

Jorge Bustamante, the U.N. Human Rights Council's independent expert on migrant rights, expressed concern that the United States has no central system for families to get information about loved ones arrested by immigration officials.

Bustamante, who is from Mexico, also said he was disappointed that U.S. officials canceled his planned visits to two detention centers. Although he visited another detention center, he said the cancellations were an obstacle to getting his job done.

"I didn't have any explanation," he told reporters of the cancelations.

Bustamante is expected to formally present his findings to the U.N. rights council in June.

During his 18-day visit, he toured the U.S. border with Mexico and watched U.S. immigration officials at work. He met with migrants and rights groups in several states and with U.S. officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency and the State Department.

The visit, he said, showed migrants' worries about arbitrary detention, bad conditions at detention facilities and racial discrimination.

illegal immigrant about senate deal: "i think i'll stay illegal"

from the miami herald:

Posted on Thu, May. 17, 2007

Illegal immigrants question Senate deal

By PETER PRENGAMAN

David Guerra wants to be legal, but he says the path to citizenship offered by the Senate on Thursday would be too risky and too expensive, and could end up driving him deeper into the shadows.

Guerra's wife and children in El Salvador depend on the $300 he sends home each month from his job as a day laborer. Key provisions of the legislation would require him to return home to apply for residency, pay a $5,000 fine and spend thousands more in application fees.

That would be disastrous for his family, he said, and, worse, he's not sure he can trust U.S. immigration authorities who have been rounding up and deporting his fellow immigrants for months.

"If I go home, who is going to guarantee that I'll be let back in?" said the 44-year-old who lays bricks, clears weeds and does landscaping.

Across the nation, illegal immigrants, many of whom toil in dirty, low-paying jobs, sharply criticized the Senate's immigration overhaul package as overly burdensome and impractical.

"Where would I find $5,000? In two years, I don't get $5,000," said Daniel Carrillo Maldonado, an illegal immigrant who was looking for construction work outside a Home Depot in Phoenix.

The agreement between the Senate and White House would allow illegal immigrants to obtain a special visa. After paying fees and the fine, they could get on a path to permanent residency that could take eight to 13 years. Heads of household would have to return to their home countries first.

Some illegal immigrants said returning home presented another major hurdle: Applying for residency at U.S. embassies in their home countries.

Amy Ndour, a 23-year-old illegal immigrant from Senegal who lives in New York, said she would be willing to pay the $5,000 fine, but not return home because her family there depends on what she earns as a hair braider.

"I'm helping myself" here, she said. "I'm helping people there too."

Karina Corona, 32, an illegal immigrant from San Diego, works seven days a week at two jobs - one at a delicatessen and another as a seamstress. She said $5,000 is a small price to pay.

"Compared with the better jobs you can get, it's nothing. It's well worth it," she said.

Carlos Velazquez, a 40-year-old illegal immigrant in Los Angeles, said he applied twice for visas in Honduras, and both times had to pay several bribes to local embassy staff.

"Only with money will the monkey dance," said Velazquez, using an idiomatic expression to refer to bribes.

The Senate agreement includes a so-called "point system," which for the first time would prioritize immigrants' education and skill level over family connections in deciding how to award green cards that allow permanent residency.

Family connections alone would no longer be enough to qualify for a green card - except for spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens. And new limits would apply to U.S. citizens seeking to bring foreign-born parents into the country.

Many illegal immigrants said they had little incentive to apply for residency because the process was long and did not offer much hope of bringing their families.

"If I'll never be able to bring my family, why should I apply?" said Jose Monson, a 33-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala who has lived in Los Angeles for four years. "I prefer to just stay here illegally."

"If I get deported and need to cross the border again, that's not a problem," he said.

Several unions, which have many immigrants in their ranks, took issue with the creation of a new temporary guest worker program.

New workers would have to return home after two-year stints, with little opportunity to gain permanent legal status or ever become U.S. citizens. They could renew their guest worker visas twice, but would be required to leave for a year between each stint.

"Temporary workers depress wages and create a second-class work force that is disconnected from the U.S. mainstream and not equal," said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union.

Pablo Alvarado, director of the National Day Labor Organizing Network, said the guest worker component would likely exacerbate rhetoric between anti-illegal immigration groups and immigration groups. Groups such as the Minutemen regularly stage protests in front of day labor centers.

"You will still have the anti-immigrant organizations blaming immigrants for depressed wages," Alvarado said.

Still, the agreement gave some hope.

In Houston, Marco Antonio Rodiguez, said he would be happy with a permit that would allow him to work legally and return to Mexico twice a year to see his wife and three children.

"Immigration reform would benefit us so much, both ourselves and families," said Rodriguez, a 48-year-old illegal immigrant who does odd jobs. "We want the law to be approved. I'm praying to God that it passes."

Pascual Bravo, an illegal immigrant who works at a construction company in Middletown, N.Y., was also eager to achieve legal status.

Bravo, 49, last crossed the border in Arizona eight years ago, paying a smuggler $1,800. "I miss my country," he said.

press coverage of yesterday's march

from the miami herald

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

Nova Southeastern University marchers rally for wages, jobs

Protesters interrupted dinner on Las Olas Boulevard on Saturday, calling for better working conditions and higher wages for workers at Nova Southeastern University.

BY TRENTON DANIEL AND NIALA BOODHOO

tdaniel@MiamiHerald.com

Marching past the al fresco restaurants, galleries and banks on Las Olas Boulevard, about 200 people rallied Saturday to protest conditions for cleaning and maintenance workers at Nova Southeastern University.

''I'm struggling to survive,'' said Fritz Hector, 42, who said he and his wife recently lost their Nova cleaning jobs. ``This is why I'm here today, to get my job back.''

The two-hour rally -- timed to coincide with the peak dinner hour -- aimed to call attention to the plight of workers like Hector and to call for higher wages at the university, whose main campus is in Davie.

NSU workers -- mostly doing cleaning, maintenance and landscaping -- voted last fall to join the Service Employees International Union. Days later, NSU told the contractor that employed the workers, Unicco, that it was rebidding the cleaning contract. It eventually replaced Unicco with several smaller firms, and workers were told to reapply for their jobs.

read the rest of this article

from the sun-sentinel

March on Las Olas

Service workers who lost jobs cry, `Shame on Nova!'

By Tonya Alanez
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted April 15 2007

The evening calm on Fort Lauderdale's most famous street was punctured Saturday when hundreds of chanting, clapping marchers paraded down Las Olas Boulevard to demand that service workers who lost their jobs at Nova Southeastern University be reinstated.

Diners, waiters and others stood on the sidewalks to watch the uncommon spectacle of a workers' protest in the heart of the city's most fashionable dining and shopping district. Some onlookers waved and flashed an approving thumbs up to the 300-plus marchers. One female diner shot them a disapproving gesture.

Some patrons of the many outdoor restaurants on Las Olas watched bewildered, wineglasses in hand, unaware of the plight of the 108 Nova janitors and groundskeepers who lost their jobs in February after they sought higher wages and health benefits. Some had been earning $7 an hour with no benefits.

read the rest of this article

300 people rally and march in support of fired nova janitors

at the end, al sharpton couldn't make it. but a lot of other people could, including representatives of the united faculty of florida, unite here, seiu local 11, florida healthcare union, the labor international union, fanm, acorn, and naacp.

(captions tomorrow. i want to get the pictures out asap!)

the rally:

the march:



300 people on las olas blvd in downtown fort lauderdale on a saturday evening, chanting "shame on nova" for the ears of unsuspecting diners? powerful.

Rally with Al Sharpton in support of Nova workers, Saturday April 14th

March with the Rev. Al Sharpton, Bishop Victor Curry and Father Jean-Juste in support of the Displaced Nova Workers and all working families.

300 mostly Haitian and Latino workers are taking on Nova Southeastern University to defend their right to choose a union.

Join us as we call on Nova to re-instate the displaced and instruct its contractors to respect their decision to form a union.

SATURDAY, APRIL 14th at 5 PM IN FORT LAUDERDALE

RALLY IN STRANAHAN PARK (corner of Broward Blvd and Andrews Ave: parking City Park Garage S.E. 1st Ave and 2nd St)

MARCH DOWN LOS OLAS BLVD

For more information call 786 210 9030 or visit www.EyeOnNova.org

Nova Southeastern University + Walmart = exploitation

from the student-run Nova newspaper, The Current:

Job Fair Held for Employees Laid Off During Contractor Change

Proponents of union call move by university “outrageous”

By Alisha VanHoose
Editor-in-Chief

In an attempt to assist displaced UNICCO employees, NSU teamed up with employment agency Workforce One to hold a job fair on March 23 for. Some of those who pushed for a union and feel that they lost their jobs because of it, however, are not amused.

“I think we continue to make every effort to make sure all the employees are taken care of,” said George Hanbury, Chief Operating Officer for NSU, adding that the university had been working with Workforce One and other agencies, and this was the fourth job fair it had requested to be held.

It was estimated that between 60 and 70 people attended the fair. “I did receive word that it was a very good job fair,” said Hanbury. “It was well received; there were about 15 employers there, including our own contractors.”

The fair was not well received by everyone, however.

“We were rather outraged by the whole thing,” said SEIU organizer Hiram Ruiz. “Some of the contractors are still advertising for the positions that used to belong to these people.” He went on to call the university’s move “outrageous” and “scandalous,” citing in particular that the fair included companies like Wal-Mart, “the king of bottom-dwelling employers.”

Former lead painter Steve McGonigle said that he attended the fair and saw many of the other employees that were laid off there, but the jobs offered there were not in the same vein as his experience.

“I don’t think Ray Ferrero can do anything for me unless I get my job back,” he said.

Hanbury restated that the university “cannot tell people who to hire, but we can make it possible for other employers to see if they want these individuals to work for them.” He also mentioned that the number of laid-off employees still waiting to be hired was diminishing.

McGonigle maintains that this isn’t enough, and continues to blame NSU President Ray Ferrero for the layoffs.

“All of this isn’t curing what Mr. Ferrero has done,” he said. “This isn’t going to get better, it’s just going to get worse until Mr. Ferrero does the right thing.” The right thing, as far as McGonigle and many of the other workers who were laid off are concerned, is to ensure that each employee who lost their job during the contractor job is guaranteed a new one on campus.

Ferrero to janitors: "Get a job at Walmart"

this is unbelievable.
(all italics mine)

Low-wage jobs no substitution for good, union jobs say displaced workers at Nova Southeastern University

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (SEIU press release)
Davie, Fl—

Workers displaced from their jobs at Nova Southeastern University after a year long fight to transform $7 an hour no-benefits jobs into higher paying jobs with health insurance, spoke out against an University gambit to resolve the crisis by encouraging workers to take temporary low-wage jobs at retailers like Wal-Mart. Nova, in cooperation with Workforce One, will hold a job fair tomorrow morning for displaced workers.

"Nova’s message to the mostly poor and minority workers who lost their jobs is ‘don’t worry, we’ll help you get another low-wage job’ but it should be ‘don’t worry we’ll make sure you are rehired and that you get the union you voted for,” said fired painter Steve McGonigle, “All we want is for Nova to do what other universities in the area have already done—institute a standard that creates good jobs that give back to the community, rather than low-wage jobs that do nothing but breed poverty.”

“We want a future that gives us an opportunity to join the middle class. Nova’s wacky strategy to stop us from having the union we voted for, the union we have a legal right to, does a great disservice to the students, to the board, and to all of Broward County. So we say thank you for the opportunity to look for work, but unless they are good jobs, then we say no thank you.”

Civil rights leaders including a growing list of national leaders, religious leaders and political leaders have now zeroed in on the situation at Nova as the front line of a larger battle—what rights do workers of color truly have, and what do we need to do as a community to safeguard those rights?

BACKGROUND

The University announced that it was putting their facility management contracts out to bid and ending its decade long relationship with Unicco Services, after Unicco workers on campus voted to form a union. The university replaced Unicco with nearly a dozen small contractors forcing the workers to reapply for their jobs with the new contractors.

Displaced workers have filed charges with the NLRB against Nova Southeastern for trying to thwart the workers right to a union. While other Universities in South Florida have raised standards, wages and provided health insurance for the contract workers on campus, NSU has fought the workers on campus trying to secure living wages, health benefits and a voice on the job.

Janitors at NSU earn less and have fewer benefits than their co-workers at other South Florida universities, including the University of Miami and Florida International University. Janitors at NSU earn just over $7.00 per hour, far less than the county living wage of $11.48 per hour. Providing health insurance and higher wages would only cost the University $1.1 million a year.

Labor Troubles in Haiti

This just in from Batay Ouvriye:

Anti-union dismissals at the brewery in Cap-Haïtien- 17 March 2007

After the dramatic events of 2003, when the management of the Brasserie du Nord (owned by Michael Madsen, a rich businessman of Danish descent and a leader of the Haitian Liberal Party) had several workers beaten and imprisoned for claiming their labour and union rights (see http://www.batayouvriye.org/English/Dossiers1/Brasserieupdate.html and http://www.labournet.net/world/0308/haiti1.html), the same reprehensible and antiquated anti-trade union practices are now being repeated.

On February 5, 2007, the trade union submitted to the company management the provisional registration authorising it to function that had been issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour. Then, in the following few days, first the union's treasurer was dismissed, and then 45 other workers were fired. The near total solidarity of the remainder of the workers at the establishment suggested that they would soon follow.

Then, this week, the Brasserie du Nord closed its doors altogether. Is it a lockout? No notification was given to the Ministry's Labour Office, and consequently the brewery workers consider that it is a clear incident of abuse by the employer and that they are owed all their salaries for this period. They have sent a formal letter demanding the urgent intervention of the Ministry concerned.

At Batay Ouvriye, we are continuing and will continue to stand up against such abuses of the basic rights of workers in Haiti. Remember that the Brasserie du Nord is the distributor of Pepsi-Cola, Prestige beer, and King Cola, for all this area of the country.

LET'S ACT IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE MULTINATIONALS' ABUSES IN HAITI!

DOWN WITH THE EMPLOYERS' ANTI-UNION REPRESSION!
LONG LIVE THE HAITIAN WORKERS' STRUGGLE!

labor games; don't let nova win!

the website that hosts our petition to nova president ray ferrero contain google-sponsored ads. this means that google picks up key words in the text of the petition and, through its magic and highly effective formula, attaches relevant ads on the side and top bars. the following two are the most prominent ads at the time of my writing:

1) Center for Union Facts -- Facts That Union Leader Don't Want You to Know

2) Nova Southeastern University -- Move your career forward with an accredited online degree!

these two ads have been very visible on the margins of our petition for the last two days, since i put the petition up, and i must say that i find it pleasantly ironic: while we ask that nova honor the union vote of its employees and give them fair wages and health care, something nova is not doing because it has chosen to hire a cheaper contractor (see ana menendez's recent article on this), nova is spending its money advertising on the margins of our petition! hey nova: how about you cut on the advertising and treat your janitors fairly?

and then of course there's the highly profitable and booming business of union busting, offered for a high price by so-called "labor relations consultants" or, in this case, political front organizations (see our story on the Center for Union Facts). businesses love them. for some reason that honestly escapes me (it really does), they prefer to spend their cash on union busting than on living wages for their poorest workers.

when i told a friend about nova's firings of the union leaders, she asked if it was legal. no, actually, it isn't. but large companies like nova have the resources to get away with it. here's an extract from an article published in the april 18, 2005 issue of the nation magazine:

Some 57 million nonunion workers in the United States say they would form a union tomorrow if given the chance, according to new poll conducted in February by Peter D. Hart and Associates. For many of them, especially women and people of color, having a union is often the difference between living in or out of poverty. Yet the truth is that a sophisticated and systematic effort to deny workers their basic freedom of association is rampant in this country.

Employers and antiunion consultants have effectively thwarted the intent and efficacy of the law that supposedly guarantees workers the freedom to form unions, a human right protected by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized by the US government thirteen years earlier in the National Labor Relations Act.

To put it in perspective: More than 20,000 US workers were fired or discriminated against for union activities, according to a National Labor Relations Board annual report. That amounts to a worker in this country being fired or discriminated against every twenty-six minutes for exercising the basic human right to form or join a union. Most employers infringe on workers' freedom to make their own decisions--routinely using legal and illegal tactics to thwart their efforts--according to Cornell University researcher Kate Bronfenbrenner. Fully one-quarter of private-sector employers illegally fire workers. And even after workers jump through all the hoops under current law and win recognition for their union, employers refuse to agree to initial collective bargaining contracts nearly half the time. This is a moral outrage.

Simply put: Our labor laws are so weak that employers routinely get away with breaking them, and when they are punished the penalties are insufficient to deter other unscrupulous employers from breaking the law. Right now the only penalty for most violations of the rights of workers to form unions is that the company must post a notice stating that it violated the law. Sometimes it takes several years before that happens, long after the effort to form a union has ended.

don't let nova win on this one. let our politicians and our community hear that you care. sign the online petition in support of the nova janitors!

sign the petition!

Dear President Ferrero,

There are 100 families in Broward that have not seen a paycheck for several weeks. Some of these employees have worked at Nova for years and it won't be easy for them to find new employment. It was easier for Nova to abandon these workers to financial insecurity and hardship than to allow for the improved working conditions that union bargaining would have facilitated.

This is a shame and a blight on an academic institution that contends it aims at excellence. Excellence is incompatible with the environment fostered by such blatant disregard of fair and humane treatment of employees.

Even as other South Florida universities such as the University of Miami and Florida International University are now offering fair contracts and higher standards to a body of unionized janitors, Nova persists in its refusal to provide fair wages, access to health care, and justice for its employees.

We ask that you:

* Instruct your new contractors to offer jobs to the ex-Unicco employees who were unfairly fired and are still available for work;
* Instruct your contractors to recognize and bargain with the SEIU;
* Provide sufficient resources for the contractors to negotiate living wages and access to health care.

Sincerely,

sign here

Give 'em hell, Steve McGonigle!

Even though he had a good job and was making good money, Steve McGonigle, a painter at Nova, fought alongside the other workers for decent wages and a voice on the job. On February 19, he found himself fired along 107 of his colleagues (in this picture, taken on that day, Steve is the tall guy at the back, with grey hair).

Yesterday Steve, who has been working tirelessly to see justice done at Nova, appeared in front of Broward commissioner and asked that they pull NSU funds. The Miami Herald covered it:

Activist urges penalty for NSU

BY AMY SHERMAN

asherman@MiamiHerald.com

A fired painter active in the drive to organize janitors at Nova Southeastern University urged Broward County commissioners to take action against the school, whose decision to switch maintenance contractors squelched the fledgling union.

Steve McGonigle hinted that commissioners could use the power of the purse to respond to Nova, located in Davie. The county pays at least 40 percent of operating costs for the library each year -- likely $5 million to $6 million in 2007-08.

''Nova has no problem coming to taxpayers when they are looking for money but don't have any problem stomping on the workers and low-wage earners,'' said McGonigle, of Tamarac.

The union has said about 100 low-wage workers lost their jobs earlier this year after Nova switched janitorial contracts.

County commissioners have said they will take a closer look at the arrangement with Nova in the coming months, during budget planning. But if Broward cuts off funds, the public would loses access. Most library users are county residents who are not enrolled and Nova employees, according to the university.

Nearly all of the county commissioners have publicly criticized Nova's administration, including its president, Ray Ferrero Jr.

Commissioners Stacy Ritter and John Rodstrom said that, as Nova law school graduates, they are embarrassed by their alma mater.

''I think the commission is quite surprised that such an institution with such a formerly good reputation would decide to do something like this,'' Commissioner Sue Gunzburger said. ``The other university in Miami, they found a solution.''

(link to herald article)

Steve is in for the long haul. Here is what he wrote in an email yesterday:

I have been hearing rumblings that Mr. Ray Ferrero wants to invite us to breakfast and have a job fair on our behalf. He states that he will do anything to help us find work. Why won’t he give us our jobs back? It would be easy on him if he found us other jobs, that way we would go away and he will not have to deal with us, the Union, and the realization that he has violated our rights to organize and, in my own words, “union-busted”. As a past president stated, “Those who would destroy, or further limit, the rights of organized labor – those who cripple collective bargaining or prevent organization of the unorganized – do a disservice to the cause of democracy”. This quote describes what is being done to us; Mr. Ferrero has tried to destroy us, violated our rights to organize, tried to prevent the organization of the unorganized, and is doing a disservice to the cause of democracy, but he does not realize that a breakfast isn’t the food we need. The food we need is to be back at our jobs, providing for our families, and having respect on the job. I do not think that is too much to ask. To be treated like a human being.

The longer this goes on the more support we will get, we will not go away, we will get stronger. And as I told the Broward County Commissioners this morning, “I am a firm believer that the squeaky wheel gets the oil." I am going to keep on squeaking until we get the oil we need.