Workin' It

Alyssa Cundari, one of the STAND students supporting the strikers, was on Air America's "Workin' It" (April 29th episode).

Comments

One, or possibly two, of our anonymous commenters is complaining of censorship. We declined to publish two comments recently because we believed they crossed the line in terms of rudeness. Comments expressing any positions on the issues will be published; personal abuse will not. (In a moment of frustration, one of the editors of this blog posted a comment which another editor judiciously removed on the same grounds.)

Dear Mr. Bailey, Dear Dr. Krupp

The following correspondence, between a punctilious academic and a hard-hitting corporate PR man, was recently discovered in our electronic attic. We publish it here for your enjoyment, along with some disucssion questions on this "84 Charing Cross Road"-like exchange.

I have heard rumors that your company pays workers below the federal poverty line and also provides no health insurance. Can you please clarify whether this is so? My students have been asking, and I will be glad to share your answer with them.
Sincerely,
Dr. Anthony Krupp

That's not right, Dr. Krupp. The amount we pay our workers varies from market to market -- we have more than 18,000 workers -- and even the average salaries at UofM is $2 above the federal minimum wage, and $1 more than the Florida minimum wage. That said, the current administration is now reviewing the wages and benefits packages offered to all contract workers at the campus and we expect a significant revision in the current status.
Sincerely,
Doug Bailey

Read the entire correspondence here.

On the student discipline front and other coverage

An excellent article in the Daily Business Review specifically on the student disciplinary hearings at UM:

Even though the janitors’ strike at the University of Miami is over, lawyers representing about 20 UM students who face potential disciplinary action for supporting the strike allege that the school is trying to pressure the students into providing intelligence about the janitors’ union organizing effort.

A group of 20 South Florida attorneys has banded together to represent the students, who received “administrative subpoenas” from the school to go in for questioning for possible violations of rules barring disorderly conduct and requiring compliance with school orders. None of the students has been formally charged. [cont'd]

And this from TPMCafe on the strike's resolution.

The Guardian gives the AP story (as do others).

Word out there

Well, the Miami Herald, having clearly identified its allegiance long ago, can't resist taking a particularly vicious, misinformed parting shot.

Here's my letter to Michael Putney, its author:

Dear Mr. Putney,

In your op-ed in today's Herald, you allege that the hunger striking workers were manipulated into the hunger strike by the union. This is a serious, factual claim and as such, you are obliged by the informal (and possibly formal) rules of civil society to provide evidence for it. You should either provide that evidence or withdraw the accusation. Anything less would be libelous.

Yours sincerely
Simon Evnine

Fortunately, there are also nicer things being said. Barbara Ehrenreich reports on her visit here.

The progressive blog devoted to the south, Facing South, gives us a "big win for labor".

And today, from Harold Meyerson, in this Washington Post, we get this.

A Film About Us!

From filmmaker Morgan Krajewski, who has been making a documentary about the UM janitors' strike:

After making you wait months to see what we've been up to, we're finally going to be screening our film, "Si Se Puede!!!!" Please come out this Wednesday, May 3rd, at 9:30 a.m. at the Cosford (in the Memorial building). I know it's a little early, but we're really hoping to have everyone come out and support us, especially any workers since the documentary focuses heavily on them.

If you can't make this screening, we will also be showing at the Canes Film Festival next Sunday, May 7th, at approximately 8pm.

Some coverage

A pre-resolution piece by Andy Stern on prominent blog MyDD.

A thoughtful post by Michael Froomkin on Discourse.net.

The Herald's piece this morning.

CBS 4's immediate post-resolution report.

Janitors to Take Down Tent City at Noon Today

A chance to stop by and chat with new friends.

Today at noon janitors will take down the tent city they erected on the edge of the University of Miami Coral Gables campus twenty-eight days ago.

Yesterday, UNICCO Service Company and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 11 entered into a Settlement Agreement that ended the eight week strike, in connection with the ongoing labor dispute at the University of Miami. Janitors will go back to work tomorrow.

WHO: Janitors
WHAT: Media Availability with UM Janitors
WHEN: Noon, Tuesday, May 2
WHERE: Freedom City, US1 and Stanford, Coral Gables.

Don't go away

This blog will continue to be published at least until the unionization process is over, until the students who remain under a disciplinary cloud are no longer in trouble, and until one or two other matters of a similar nature are cleared up. I doubt we will publish at the same pace, but, if you are a regular, please check back in case we need you. Also, we will post tomorrow with pictures from the meeting at which the agreement was announced to the workers.

In case you haven't heard...

We've won!!!!!

That's right, folks. It was announced this afternoon, at around 5pm, that UNICCO and SEIU have signed an agreement that will allow the workers to decide whether they want a union by means of a card check recognition process. Here are the bare bones of what was decided:

• The agreement establishes a code of conduct governing how both the employer and the union will interact with the workers during the process. Both sides agree not to interfere with workers' decision whether or not to form a union.
• A neutral, independent organization, the American Arbitration Association, will verify the results of the process to determine whether or not a supermajority of UNICCO janitors at the University of Miami wish to form a union.
• Once AAA has independently verified that a supermajority of 60% of the janitors working for UNICCO have signed cards saying they want to form a union with SEIU, UNICCO has agreed to recognize (on the very same day) SEIU as the janitors' union.
• Janitors have until August 1, 2006 to demonstrate a supermajority.
• The agreement covers 410 janitors working for UNICCO on the campus of the University of Miami and UM's Jackson Memorial Hospital.
• The striking janitors will return to work Wednesday, May 3, 2006.
• Zoila Mursuli, the janitor union leader who had been fired by UNICCO, will be reinstated immediately. She will receive backpay for the weeks after she was fired before her co-workers went on strike.