Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Janitors at UC Berkeley Picket - and Howard Dean Supports Them

Check out this story from the San Francisco Chronicle (May 29) by Rick DelVecchio.

UC Berkeley may be the finest public university in the nation, but the toilets have to be cleaned the same as anyplace else.

The 300 custodians who do the university's scrubbing pointed up this household reality during their recent picketing of graduation ceremonies. Their message: They work for the top-rated public institution of higher learning but earn a below-average wage.

Picketing by the janitors union frustrated six commencement events -- the speakers, including former presidential candidate Howard Dean, refused to cross the janitors' lines -- and rankled Cal at a time of embarrassment over questionable executive pay deals by top officials in the university system.

Dean said workers can't support their families on what Cal pays its janitors. [cont'd]

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