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about SLAP | STUDENT LABOR WEEK OF ACTION | CAMPAIGNS | SLACTIVIST NEWS | TOOLS & RESOURCES | United States Student Association |
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WINTER 2008 SLACTIVIST NEWS
STUDENT LABOR WEEK OF ACTION MARCH 28 - APRIL 4
Now is the time to turn our dreams for a better world into a reality. From March 27-April 4, 2007, students and workers join together to celebrate the lives of Cesar Chavez and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to continue their work to build a better future. Join us as we demand:
Dr. King once said, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for freedom. A man can’t ride your back unless it is bent.” It is in this tradition that we announce the: 9th annual National Student Labor Week of Action Victory is the word for organizers in Philadelphia On January 23, 2008, the Philadelphia Officers and Workers Rising (POWR) coalition won a major victory in a campaign to raise wages and benefits for security officers at Philadelphia's two largest universities.
Last spring, following a series of direct actions, University of Pennsylvania president, Amy Guttmann, granted three paid sick days for Allied-Barton guards on her campus and recently UPENN bicycle guards won a raise from $9.60 per hour to $15.00 per hour and $19.00 per hour for supervisors. These concessions on the part of university administrators on both campuses mark the beginning of a new era of worker justice at universities and a campaign to improve the security industry in the city of Philadelphia. These wins did not, however, fall from the sky but were the result of an intense and well-planned campaign run by the POWR coalition. On December 6, 2007, Temple University SLAP members met with members of the Temple Board of Trustees and Allied-Barton executives to discuss the poverty wages, lack of benefits and training, as well as the oppressive working conditions of Allied-Barton security guards. At the meeting, SLAP members were promised a decision on their ask for five paid sick days per year for Temple guards within two weeks.
Following the cards, POWR members sang President Hart a carol that went something like this:
Shocked and a little disgusted, Ann Weaver Hart had POWR members were escorted from the auditorium. The pressure continued as MLK day came around without a response. On January 22, 2008, Ann Weaver Hart hosted an event in honor of Reverend Marin Luther King Jr. As people entered the auditorium for the event, POWR members handed out flyers and explained the oppression of over 250 Allied-Barton guards on Temple’s campus and the hypocrisy of such an event in light of President Hart’s despicable treatment of a predominantly African-American work force. Police officers present at the event first told coalition members that they couldn’t talk to people, then that they couldn’t hand out flyers, and finally began physically taking flyers out of the hands of the activists. Though she was merely a few feet away and could see that the POWR members were not being disruptive, President Hart again had the activists forcibly removed from the auditorium, a disgrace to the legacy and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as well as Temple University. Whether it was the meeting, the carol, the cards, or the flyers, Temple University President, Ann Weaver Hart, realized it was time to listen and in a January 23, 2008 article in the Temple Times announced three paid sick-days for Allied Barton guards as of February 1, 2008. "We see this as a civil rights issue." Says Bishop Dwayne Royster, Pastor from Living Waters UCC in North Philadelphia, "It is the largest effort to raise African-American workers into the middle-class in our city's history." This is just the beginning and the POWR coalition has no intention of retreating! Building a movement for worker justice in Vermont!
At the conference, SLAP had workshops with students across the state to discuss ways of working together and building power jointly, and participated in a panel with VT Senator Bernie Sanders, CWA President Larry Cohen, UPV/AFT President Jen Henry, and Vermont NEA President Angelo Dorta - to discuss the need to work together and build solidarity across unions and campuses and continue to build a movement for worker’s rights across the state. The day and meeting went on with a march through the streets of Burlington to show that the fight for worker’s rights, universal healthcare, stopping the many fronts of the so-called “war on terror” and need to bring our troops home, stopping the abuse and ravaging of our planet and its resources, are MANY FIGHTS but there is ONE MOVEMENT. Capping off the wonderful day and week of action, folks came together for a “Social Forum Social” to meet other great activists and organizers, as well as learn more about the social forum and a delegation that had made its way to Atlanta this last summer from Vermont. View the video by clicking here… Baseball's New Era Cap turns Dr. Kings Dream into a Field of NightmaresTake Action NOW in support of workers in Mobile, Alabama. This past spring, in an effort to address poverty wages, racial discrimination and forced overtime, New Era Cap workers decided to stand up for their rights and fight for justice and equality in their workplace. Workers, the majority of whom are black and female, were being passed over for promotion and were paid less than white workers. New Era was even disciplining single mothers when they took time to bring their children to the doctor. View the press conference with the President of the Teamsters along with the head of the NAACP about New Era's violations in the Mobile factory. Contact zack@usasnet.org to learn more about this campaign and get involved! E. Tennessee JwJ says PAY A PENNY MORE PER POUND! Join the Thousands TAKING ACTION in support of farmworkers in Immokalee, FL.
After the demonstration, members of the coalition committed themselves to demonstrate at a Burger King outlet once a month until there is an acceptable settlement. For more information on the campaign for fair food visit www.ciw-online.org or www.sfalliance.org Video Contest for Student Activists: "There Ought to be a Law" CWA & JwJ are sponsoring a contest designed spread the word about EFCA - the Employee Free Choice Act. This is an excellent opportunity for for progressive - and creative - student activists with a flair for producing short videos. Contest Rules:
To learn more about the contest, visit www.efcavideo.com. You can download a flyer about the contest here. Catch up with us at these upcoming events! United Students Against Sweatshops Winter Conference (February 8-10) Young Democratic Socialists’ Be Realistic, Demand the Impossible: Reviving Democratic, Socialist, and Youth Activism (February 16-17) US Student Associations’ Grassroots Legislative conference (March 15-18) National M.E.Ch.A. Conference: Deconstructing our different Aztlanes through Arte (March 20-23) All leading up to the National Student Labor pre-conference at the National conference for Jobs with Justice! (May Day! weekend) Check out these amazing internship & scholarship opportunities that are fast approaching UNION RESEARCH SUMMER SCHOOL, June 8-13, 2008 The AFL-CIO and Cornell University are sponsoring a Strategic Corporate Research Summer School on June 8-13, 2008 in Ithaca, New York. The course (credit or non-credit) is designed for undergrad and grad students who are interested in working as union researchers and campaigners. The registration deadline is May 9. Scholarships are available if you apply early. To obtain a registration form and other information, go to http://www.sce.cornell.edu/ss/courses/on/special/scr.php, or contact Sarai Narvaez at (607) 254-4749 or e-mail at scr-school@cornell.edu Davis-Putter Scholarship The Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund has applications available for student activists nationally who are building the progressive movement and will be enrolled in school during the 2008-09 academic year. Their website provides access to the application form, answers to questions about the Fund, the application process, and the students we support. If you know of students working for peace and justice, or if you have a list of activist contacts, please send this announcement along and refer potential applicants to the Fund's website: www.davisputter.org. Since 1961 the Davis-Putter Fund has provided need-based grants to students who are able to do academic work at the college level and are involved in building movements for social and economic justice. Grantees are both graduates and undergraduates enrolled in accredited schools for the period covered by their grant. Although citizenship is not a consideration, applicants must live in the United States and plan to enroll an accredited program in the US in order to qualify. The maximum grant is $8,000 and may be considerably smaller depending on the applicant's circumstances and the funding available. All the funds come from individual donors and there are 25-30 grants awarded each year. Grants are for one year although students may re-apply for subsequent years. Applications and the supporting documents -- transcripts, a personal statement, two letters of recommendation, a photograph, financial aid reports -- must be postmarked by April 1. Those selected to receive a grant will not be notified until July. Thank you! 2008 UNION ALTERNATIVE BREAK 2008 UNION ALTERNATIVE BREAK is a program for student activists interested in exploring a career in union organizing and the labor movement. Participants travel to an active union organizing campaign for five days of intensive classroom and field training. Students who successfully complete the week will be given priority consideration for our Organizer-in-Training program. Deadline to apply is Feb. 8, 2008. For more information and to apply, visit www.unionbreak.org or email rpanciera@afscme.org. Open to seniors and graduates interested in a career in the labor movement. Spring Break Session 1: March 2-6, 2008: Participants will be working with Ohio childcare providers who are demanding respect and fair pay for the critical work they do. Spring Break Session 2: March 16 – 20, 2008: Participants will be helping Kentucky state workers who are fighting for their basic human right to organize a union where they work. AFSCME/UNCF UNION SCHOLARS AFSCME/UNCF UNION SCHOLARS program provides students of color with an opportunity to work on the front lines of the labor movement. Students participate in a variety of activities that may include helping non-union workers organize a union at their job, building AFSCME’s grassroots political program or conducting research for organizing campaigns. The ten-week internship provides a stipend of $4,000, on-site housing, and an opportunity to attend a week-long orientation and training at Harvard. In addition, participants who successfully complete their internships are eligible to receive an academic scholarship of up to $5000. Deadline to apply is February 28 th. For more information and to apply, visit www.afscmeorganizers.org and click on AFSCME/UNCF Scholars or email pallen@afscme.org. Open to sophomores and juniors of color. AFSCME ORGANIZER-IN-TRAINING AFSCME ORGANIZER-IN-TRAINING program is an intensive training program designed for participants to learn the fundamentals of building worker power through union organizing. OITs come from diverse backgrounds of work, organizing and academic experience. Participants learn the nuts and bolts of an organizing campaign from talking one-on-one with workers, to developing leaders, and organizing direct actions. Candidates are placed on active campaigns with experienced organizers who provide mentoring and one-on-one training throughout the program. Salary starts at $34,212 with family health coverage, a car allowance, twelve paid holidays, 401k, pension plan and more. Women and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information, visit www.afscmeorganizers.org. Open to seniors and graduates. The Urban Institute (UI) Summer Academy for Public Policy Analysis and Research The UI Summer Academy is a unique eight-week program of skills building and training in policy analysis and research on location at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.—the Nation's capitol and the heart of U.S. policy-making. Deadline to apply is March 8, 2008. http://www.urban.org/uisa/details.cfm for more information UNITE HERE Internships Across North America, hotel workers are rising – organizing to lift one another out of poverty. Housekeepers, dishwashers, cooks are standing together to win the right to organize a union and improve their lives. They need you – your energy, your education, your enthusiasm – to join them in that fight. UNITE HERE is offering a six week, paid Hotel Workers Rising Internship for passionate student leaders who will spend their summer in the struggle for justice. Internship sites will be based in major cities across the U.S. and Canada. The Hotel Workers Rising Internship will run in two sessions: June 2nd-July 11th, 2008; July 21st-August 29 th, 2008. Stipend $450.00 week. Participants are responsible for their own housing. Application Deadline: March 23, 2008. For more information: summerinternship@unitehere.org TO APPLY go to: http://jobs.unitehere.org/internapp.php= Center for Third World Organizing MAAP Program – Apply Now The Movement Activist Apprenticeship Program (MAAP), established in 1985, is an 8-week-long intensive training program that provides people of color with the opportunity to develop skills and experience in grassroots organizing: http://www.ctwo.org/index.php?s=27 Community Action Training: http://www.ctwo.org/index.php?s=30 |
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The POWR coalition - comprised of campus guards, the Student Labor Action Project (SLAP), Jobs with Justice, the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, and other faith and community leaders - have worked for three years at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania seeking better working conditions for their sub-contracted Allied-Barton security guards.
After waiting with no response, the POWR coalition took action and directly confronted Temple president Ann Weaver Hart at her yearly Christmas party by passing out Christmas Cards which read “Don’t be a Grinch President Hart! This Xmas grant Allied-Barton guards 5 paid sick days.” 
In response to the call for a 
Just this last week, E TN. JwJ and TIRRC (Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition) members, local labor unions (UNITE-HERE, CWA, and the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council), churches, and students from the Progressive Student Alliance at the University of Tennessee came together in Knoxville, TN, to picket and send a delegation of local leaders to a local Burger King and urge them to stop their resistance to an agreement with the CIW and work to improve the wages and working conditions of Florida tomato pickers. 