Twin Cities Academics for Labor Solidarity

A Victory for the Janitors!

2007-02-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to SEIU Local 26 Janitors on their recent victory in their campaign for a collectively bargained and fair contract. This was a campaign that a good number of TALSC members made contributions to with their support in writing, at civil disobedience protests. More information on the settlement and the significance of this victory for the janitors' contract and struggle in the Twin Cities:

Janitors Ratify Historic Contract

Update on Janitors and Need for More Support from TALSC

2007-02-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

TCALSC has been supporting actions by Janitors at SEIU Local 26 for a fair contract, Grant Arndt from St. Olaf College's Sociology and Anthropology Dept. sends along the following update:

Hi Steve (this can be sent to the list):

Although it seemed that there had been much progress in the contract negotiations betwen SEIU and the cleaning companies on Friday (the last day of scheduled negotiations) the situation remains unresolved at this point. We should have an official update by tomorrow (Monday) evening.

In the meantime, the Solidarity Committee would like to request that people at Twin Cities campuses consider arranging informational meetings/civil disobedience trainings this week. St Thomas had three CD trainings last week, the U of M one, and Macalester had one today (Sunday). Those associated with other TC campuses are especially encouraged to organize a meeting. Iris Bordayo from SEIU has been conducting the trainings and is the person to contact directly about hosting a meeting (at ibordayo@seiu26.org). There will be a Solidarity Committee meeting tomorrow (Monday) night at 7 (at the SEIU offices). All those who are interested in being involved in future actions are encouraged to attend. Grant

SEIU 26 Janitors Rally and Authorise Strike

2007-01-13T22:05:00.000-08:00

A large turnout for a meeting convened today by the SEIU Local 26 representing 4200 janitors in the Twin Cities. Faced with nothing in the way of an affordable health care benefit program, unpaid work, and lower wages than janitors in other large cities, janitors, representing the multi-racial and multi-ethnic new face of unionism, voted overwhelmingly to authorise their collective bargaining unit to deploy the strike weapon if demands for a fair contract are not met during negotiations with building owners who employ and profit from their work.

After the meeting, 6 members of the Twin Cities Academics for Labor Solidarity participated in a SEIU Local 26 Janitors' Solidarity Committee Meeting, at which 40 community members strategized on developing community involvement in solidarity actions in the near future to help the union put pressure on building owners to negotiate a just contract for the 4200 janitors of Local 26.

A Janitor speaks out about working without affordable health care and calls for strike authorization.

Another janitor calls for a fair contract and solidarity.

A chart showing that only 14 of 2,000 eligible health care benefit participants signed up to buy the unaffordable health care insurance package offered by the building owners. The owners have refused to negotiate on the matter of health care benefits.

Newly elected congressman Keith Ellison rallies the union membership and promises to be out on picket lines with the workers. A number of other politicians from the Twin Cities also showed up and offered strong messages of support for the janitors' cause.

Rally to Support Arrested Worthington Immigrant Workers

2006-12-19T13:22:00.000-08:00

About 150-200 [my unprofessional count in the freezing cold!] supporters showed up at Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman's St. Paul Office to show solidarity with the immigrant workers arrested in the raids that took place against immigrant workers across the country last week. TCALSC profs also were present, some photos below:

Grant Arndt, professor of sociology at St. Olaf Collega and Rev. David Smith, professor of Theology at St. Thomas University show support for immigrant workers' rights.

Rev. David Smith and 3 students from St. Thomas University showing support for immigrant workers' rights at the rally to solidarity with the Worthington Immigrant workers.

Professors Peter Rachleff (Macalester University, Dept. of History) and Stephen Philion (St. Cloud State University, Dept. of Sociology) showing support for the Worthington Imimigrant Workers.

The view of the crowd from University Avenue.

Candles of solidarity

2006-12-07T09:40:00.000-08:00

From Twin Cities Daily Planet

By Barb Kucera , Workday Minnesota

For more than three years, workers at Cintas Corp. have been trying to organize a union, and for more than three years, management has tried many tactics – some of them illegal – to stop them from exercising their rights.

Union organizers say the company has reached a new low by firing workers at its Eagan and Maple Grove, Minn., operations and other facilities across the country. So despite bitter cold, two busloads of union members and supporters protested outside the Cintas plant in Maple Grove Monday night.

"Cintas possibly is violating federal and state laws. The people must come together to stand up against these unfair practices," said Uriel Perez Espinoza, vice president of UNITE HERE Local 17, which is organizing Cintas workers in Minnesota.

One Cintas worker said the company fired 10 people in Maple Grove and 15 in Eagan after the workers received "no match" letters from the Social Security Administration indicating possible discrepancies between SSA records and information provided to employers. The Social Security Administration does not require employers to take any action following such letters, which could have a number of causes, including clerical errors, name changes, marriage and divorce.

Instead, across the country Cintas is using these letters as a pretext to terminate and intimidate its employees, many of whom are recent immigrants, UNITE HERE organizers said. Currently, Cintas workers in California, Illinois, Connecticut, Minnesota and Wisconsin face termination.

Since the union drive began, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled Cintas violated federal labor law by threatening, spying on and firing workers at its facilities in Minnesota and other states. The company also has been cited for health and safety violations and is the subject of several racial discrimination lawsuits.

Cintas is the most profitable uniform and laundry company in North America, with sales of more than $3 billion last year and profits of more than $300 million. Yet most production workers report earning wages of $7 to $9 an hour and paying high health insurance costs – prompting them to launch the drive to unionize in 2003.

Rallies have been held at Cintas facilities across the country. Martin Goff, organizing director for Local 17, said public attention should be focused on the company.

Oaxaca Solidarity Demo at WCCO for Corporate Media Coverage

2006-12-02T12:48:00.000-08:00

A demo was held Friday December 01 at WCCO News station to demand an end to the corporate media blackout of information on the Oaxaca rebellion and repression of labor rights in Mexico. Activists managed to get their signs filmed as part of the background of the news broadcast for about a minute before security guards came out and insisted they not hold signs while the news was being broadcasted. Also a representative of WCCO came out and apparently expressed sympathy with the protest's demands for more and informed coverage from the corporate media about the Oaxaca rebellion.

Several members of TCALSC showed up on short notice to show support for the demo and for the rights of the labor activism taking place in Oaxaca.

Deb Rosenstein of the Labor Education Service at University of Minnesota and Rafael Morayata, Union Rep from SEIU Local 26

A mom and baby show solidarity with the demand for an end to the media blackout of Oaxaca Rebellion

Steve Philion, assistant professor of sociology at St. Cloud State University supporting the demo and demand for an end to the media blackout of Oaxaca rebellion

Demonstrators in front of WCCO

Upcoming Actions

2006-10-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

1. Rally to support Mesaba unions - THURSDAY 26 OCTOBER

11am at the Crowne Plaza Northstar Hotel downtown Minneapolis

11:00am-11:30am Speakers, lunch and directions from the hotel
11:30am Walk to courthouse picket and chant
11:45am-12:45pm Gather in front of the courthouse picket
12:45pm Walk back to hotel

NWA AFA Contacts: Faye Faulkner 952-241-4107, Laurie Gandrud 952-241-4109

2. Rally Against the Iraq War - SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER
1 pm at the State Capitol
Organized by Iraq Peace Action Coalition
Join the MN Labor Against War contingent-Look for our banner and table
FILM SCREENING AFTER THE RALLY AT 3:30pm - "Meeting Face to Face: The US-Iraq Labor
Solidarity Tour" at the Labor Center, 411 Main (Mahoney) Street, St. Paul.

3. Community Rally for the Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC)--MONDAY, OCTOBER 30
2020 Bloomington Ave. S. (Bloomington & Franklin)
5:00 PM

Children and families in south Minneapolis have counted on the
Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC) since 1966. Now the
university is forcing the center to cut more than 20 jobs to begin paying a
$2.5 million debt to the U of M Academic Health Center. Staff cuts could
fatally weaken an already overburdened clinic. Join us to ask the
University to forgive the debt and find a responsible solution that allows
the clinic to continue to provide its essential services.

Support the Community-University Health Care Center
Community health is public service
Stop the layoffs! Forgive the debt!
Join us...

Announcement: Democratizing Education Week of Action

2006-10-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

HIGHER EDUCATION FOR ALL!
Week of Action - October 23-27, 2006
http://www.DemocratizingEducation.org

<< urgent - please participate - please forward >>

VIRTUAL MARCH & PHONE-IN
Calling everyone: Email and phone-in right now . . .
Tell the corporate sector and politicians to end the education cuts!

Every community college, tech school, and university in the USA is
experiencing the same thing. Major cuts in public funding. Massive
tuition increases. Ballooning student debt. Collapsing educational
quality and staff support. Young people dying in Iraq for the price of
an education. The word for this situation is crisis.

Right now, college administrators, state legislatures, governors, and
federal officials are preparing for the next round of cuts in funding,
quality, and access. If you are unwilling to allow the crisis to worsen
- if you're willing to do something to make it better - take action.
Here's how . . .

1. VIRTUAL MARCH ON CORPORATE LOBBYISTS - All Week, October 23-27 -
Go to http://www.DemocratizingEducation.org - Use the web-email form to
send a letter to corporate lobbyists, politicians, and administrators.
Tell them to stop the drive to reduce public funding for higher
education. Tell them to support full public financing of our colleges,
schools, and universities.

2. PHONE-IN - Friday, October 27 - On Friday, go back to the website.
Use the phone list to call the lobbyists and government officials.
Give them the same message in person. Be direct, clear, polite, and firm.

3. GET INVOLVED with the Democratizing Education Network (DEN) - We
are a network of students, youth, faculty, staff, and community members
working to reverse the corporatization of higher education. We're
planning another round of coordinated actions for the coming months. Get
involved. Read more about us on the website!

. . . Democratizing Education Network (DEN)
http://www.DemocratizingEducation.org . . .

TALSC Profs Show Support for Demo at INS by Immigrant Workers

2006-10-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

This is a photo from the recent Demonstration against Deportations, which was held by MIRAC Minnesota Immigrants Rights Action Coalition on September 30. 7 professors from the Twin Cities and St. Cloud went to this action and showed support for this action by immigrant workers'.

Below is another photo from that event [photos taken by Richard Martinez, Professor in UMN's Chicano Studies Dept. and TALSC member]

The Latest

2006-10-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

Our most recent TALSC meeting was held a week ago:

1] We agreed that it was more sustainable a strategy for our group to not do the Immigrant Workers’ Rights Tour until spring 2007, in order to be certain it is well planned and attended. It was agreed that November was too rushed for a new group like ours to pull off such a plan and not doing it well would do more damage than good.

1a] We also want to schedule a campus tour of flight attendants from Northwest Airlines next semester to talk about their organizing campaign to campus communities concerned with workers' rights in an age of globalization.

2] We agreed that the key focus of the group should be, through activities, outreach, and meetings, the gradual building of a network of faculty, students, and campus workers that can respond to the needs of workers’ pickets and demonstrations.

3] Relatedly ,we agreed to continue putting word out and reminding colleagues sympathetic to issues of race, gender, and class to send letters to MPR, as requested from the Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network, about MPR’s use of the word ‘illegal workers’ to describe people who work

4] We noted the presence of 7 Twin Cities and St. Cloud faculty members of TALSC at the recent Demonstration against Deportations sponsored by Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coaltion, held at the INS building in Bloomington on September 30.

5] We agreed that a meeting should be called to discuss concrete plans for the Immigrant Workers’ Rights Tour and that meeting should be in November, second week at the latest.

Meeting Report: Immigrant Workers' Rights Campus Tour

2006-09-27T14:04:00.000-07:00

At our September 25th meeting, Mariano and Sylvia were in attendance, representing the Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network, a grassroots, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to fix the broken immigration system in this country. Their strategies include civic engagement, grass-roots community organizing, immigrant leadership development, bipartisan legislative work, popular education, and using art as a catalyst for social change. Although they are a young organization,their creative and successful organizing projects along with the dynamic growth of the immigrant rights movement have positioned them in the heart of a burgeoning movement.

They discussed the proposed idea of a “Minnesota Immigrant Workers’ Rights Campus Tour.’ Mariano introduced the kind of organizing work the coalition does in Minnesota. They already have several highly developed outreach projects focusing on Minnesota communities with significant immigrant populations and on more general media representations. They emphasize the basic community and family level issues shared by all workers, and the common heritage of Minnesotans as descendents of immigrants.

It was agreed that it would be valuable to bring information to campuses about this kind organizing work as a means of raising labor rights consciousness on Minnesota campuses. Representatives from the group will be willing to meet with classes and also to facilitate more general community dialogue sessions (which seemed to be their preferred format). Our goal for the next meeting scheduled for Monday, October 9th, 7:30, at UMN is to work out more concrete plans for the campus tour on our various campuses. After consulting with Sylvia and Mariano, and the TCALS representatives present, we set an agenda of working out a schedule for the tour in November.

Moratorium on Deportations Demo Sept. 29th, 4 p.m.

2006-09-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Declares Moratorium on Deportations

Protest and Press conference in conjunction with national actions Friday September 29th, 2006 4:00 PM Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office
2901 Metro Drive, Bloomington

There has been an increase in deportations in the last few months. Many people are scared but others, like Elvira Arrelano in Chicago, are saying ‘enough is enough’ and are resisting deportation orders. We are supporting Elvira and the thousands of Elviras around the country who are standing up bravely for all immigrants. We need to oppose deportations that split up families and support a just immigration reform. Immigrants are an important part of our communities and deserve basic human rights to live and work without fear. Minnesotans will add our voice to the national movement demanding a moratorium on deportations of immigrants and legalization for all.

This event is sponsored by the Minnesota Immigrants Rights Action Coalition
(MIRAc)

For more information check out www.mnimmigrantrights.net or call (651)
389.9174

What we're up to

2006-09-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

Recently, on September 4th, professors from the Twin Cities Region [9 in all, contacted pretty much via the sophisticated technology of the phone] gathered together and marched with immigrant workers marching for immigrant workers' rights in St. Paul on Labor Day 2006. This is the kind of application of classroom pedagogies emphasizing social justice that the TCALSC wants to develop, with increasing numbers of people [i.e. professors, students, workers] from Twin Cities Regional campuses participation.

Pass the word!

Next Meeting is on September 25th

2006-09-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

The first meeting went great, with academic types from St. Thomas University, UMN, St. Cloud State University, St. Olaf, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and Macalester College, in all 13 on a Monday night. Our next meeting, to which we invite academic [i.e. faculty,students and campus workers] and community members, will be on Monday, September 25th, at 7:30 p.m at UMN Carlson School of Management 2219.
Our agenda is short and simple:

1] To coordinate efforts with student groups and community groups that have an interest in showing solidarity with for workers' struggles for economic and political rights

2] To plan and move forward with a "Minnesota Wide Immigrant Workers' Rights Campus Tours" to enable immigrant workers and organizers the chance to make their issues more visible to students and faculty around Minnesota. Representatives from the Resource Center of the Americas will be present at the meeting and ideally we can put this idea into motion soon during this semester.

The location for this meeting will be UMN in a room that will be announced very soon.

Planning Meeting: Thursday September 14, 2006

2006-09-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Invitation to Planning Meeting for Twin Cities Academic-Labor Solidarity Committee

Date:Thursday September 14th, 7:30 p.m.
University of Minnesota Social Sciences Bldg 260
University of Minnesota West Bank [See map below]

Over the last months a number of professors from 4 universities in the Twin Cities region [including St. Cloud State University] have been discussing the need to form an Academic-Labor Solidarity Committee. Our concern is that Twin Cities region academics who are committed to social justice oriented pedagogies can and should do more to show support for workers [regardless of ‘legal status’] when they are collectively organizing to win economic and political rights in this globalized economy.
We have tried to more actively show up at either strike lines [i.e. NWA Mechanics Strike last year] or rallies [Immigrant Rights Marches in St. Paul] and let workers know we support their struggles and see their victories as crucial to the cause of social justice.

Building on this model we seek to create an Academic Labor-Solidarity Committee that can serve a number of important functions in raising consciousness about workers struggles and making our support for those struggles go beyond the classroom door to workers’ sites of social justice struggles by:

1] Creating a network of professors and students who are committed to showing up at workers’ rallies and picket lines in order to help sustain workers’ morale and strength in numbers, [eg. Through phone trees ready to be put into motion during workers’ strikes or rallies].

2] Develop state wide ‘campus tours’ that will generate awareness of labor justice issues, such as a NWA Flight Attendants’ Campus Tour and Immigrant Worker Organizers Campus Tour,

3] Develop an Academic-Labor website and discussion list that can serve as a means for academics to provide each other with classroom resources that facilitate the goal of relating social justice oriented themes to labor struggle issues of the day [which could be a catalyst for labor issues based reading groups,..]

4] Develop academic and community based projects that challenge the power of corporations that actively engage in the undermining of workers’ rights [eg. A professors’ boycott of NWA, letter writing campaigns from professors,]

5] The development of alliances with student-labor solidarity committees and community based labor solidarity committees.

This committee has numerous goals, however our goal is not to overwhelm its membership, but to develop as a committee that starts out small and builds bit by bit over time as a network. We are very interested in discussing these 5 goals at a meeting that has been called for. Our agenda will stick to these topics and we will begin at 7:30 p.m. and end promptly before or at 9 p.m..

The address is Social Science Building room 260 at the University of Minnesota, West Bank. Any questions, please direct them to the person who has sent this email notification. We’re looking forward to seeing you all at the meeting!