PICKETS 1st DAY: Welcome Students!

On Wednesday, September 30th, two pickets will be held to welcome students back to school, and back to unsafe classrooms, labs, and workplaces! The pickets are called by a new organization called International Workers and Students for Justice, made up of custodians, students, and Seattle community members. Though small now, it hopes to grow as the year goes on! The name for this group was created by custodians, who wanted to emphasize the need for workers and students to fight together, and also the fact that many custodians are immigrants, and many students facing higher tuition are international students, or 1st generation from immigrant families! Come to their first event of the year, and support students, custodians, and trades!

Support letter to UCSC from Democracy Insurgent

See occupyca.wordpress.com and edu-factory.org for up-to-date information on the UC walk-outs and UC Santa Cruz occupation.

Letter of Support from Democracy Insurgent at University of Washington

To occupiers of UCSC and participants in the walk-outs and other actions in the UC schools:
We at the University of Washington stand in solidarity with you. We are custodians, tradesfolks, graduate students, unemployed youth, undergrads, recent graduates, staff; we are women, people of color, immigrants, persons with disabilities, and queer folks.

As we work to build a strong movement against abuse and retaliation to working folks here at the UW, we draw enormous strength from your actions. At UW, we who have been affected by targeted abuses which have been legitimized by by budget cuts and we upon whose backs the rich are getting richer in this time of economic "crisis", are fighting back with a vengeance. We know we are getting to something because we have been targeted by the administration, who have used Police to target activists, workers, and journalists in order to attempt to silence us as they continue to cover up racist and patriarchal attacks. We will not be silenced; we will only raise our voices.

Your actions have shown that must stand up to a system that uses crisis to push forward oppression; that must unite for common goals across job descriptions and divisions the University enforces us to keep us docile; that we must refuse to participate in the oppression of the state and of the University.

We support you as you fight, and stand with you in your actions.

In struggle,

Democracy Insurgent
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
d.insurg@gmail.com
nobudgetcutsuw.blogspot.com

Picket Last Wednesday, Real Change Article

By Democracy Insurgent; d.insurg@gmail.com

Last Wednesday's picket was a success, with mix of students, custodians, and trades in support. We held the picket down on red square, with call and response chants about retaliation, Mark Emmert's new perks, and TA, student, and worker demands. We also got to see the Real Change article by Cyd Gillis on the arrests, featuring a great picture of Salvador Castillo on the cover! If you live in Seattle, we encourage you to buy a copy.

Please stay tuned for an announcement about 1st day of school picket against unsafe schools, dorms, and workplaces.

See below for a brief speech given before the picket last week:

"Hello everyone, and thank you for coming out.

We are here today to picket against retaliation against workers for organizing to fight for their rights! Last Spring, the University announced budget cuts that would increase class sizes, raise tuition, cut staff positions, cut departments, and target custodians, students of color, women, and queer folks. In May and June, literally hundreds of people in the UW community gathered to rally against these cuts. Since this time, custodians, students, and others have faced enormous retaliation from management. This retaliation has come in the form of extra work, ignoring workplace injurings, isolating workers, contracting out labor in an effort to union bust, and, as of a few weeks ago, the mobilization of the UWPD to arrest students journalists who were meeting with their friends, custodians, during their break from work. The following work day, magaers and police came together during custodians breaktime, in the gathering public space of their building, to harras and intimidate them against speaking with one another. We will not stand for this abuse, and we will not concede our rights either!

Today we draw strength from other movements here and around the country We draw strngth from In Soo Chun who sacrificed his life to bring attention to abuses in the custodial department at UW, whose death and the circumstances around it have been covered up by UW. We draw strngth from the teachers in Kent, who said "we will not conced our lives and our students lives for higher wage, nor in the threat of legal action." Those teachers decided to strike for smaller class sizes, and when the district said they would fine them 200/a day, a large portion of their small teachers' salary, 74 % of teachers decided to face retaliation and stay on strike! These teachers won a victory yesterday. We draw strength from the walkouts at UC by faculty who refse to accept abuses to themselvs, students, and workers, occupations at New School and other schools, protests in Detroit led by students and workers. We are also building a new movement that sees the struggles of students and workers as inherently tied to one another. We cannot win without one another. We now picket together in front of these administrators to say ....UW MUST RECOGNIZE/WORKERS' RIGHT TO ORGANIZE!..."

Statement from D.I. on recent arrests

About 2 weeks ago, 2 members of Democracy Insurgent (D.I). were arrested by the UW Police for meeting with the custodians at Health Sciences building during their breaktime. They were there in the capacity of journalists, interviewing workers about workplace abuses for an upcoming Zine we are collaborating on. We have reason to believe that the arrests were politically targeted because we were taken right when the breaktime ended, and the police knew exactly who we were when they arrested us. It is also an uncanny coincidence that the selective enforcement of the building policy took place right on the day that we distributed a press release publicizing the suicide of former UW custodian, In Soo Chun. In Soo Chun had self immolated himself on Red Square in Oct last year and his former co-workers were planning to organize a rally in his memory.

The first thing the police officer said when she saw us, was to call us "terrorists." It is not a coincidence that the 2 activists were women of color.

Most importantly, we see the arrests as an attempt by a desperate and guilty management to scare immigrant custodians from organizing. The next workday after the arrest, UWPD and Custodial Services managers were harassing workers who were trying to meet during their break time. It is clear to us that the arrest of our members is tied closely to the continual intimidation and harassment of immigrant custodians who are organizing against speed up and extra work.

We are having a picket tomorrow at 1:30pm on Red Square to raise awareness of the issues (see flyer below). We know that many of you may not be on campus during this time. For those of you who are, we hope you can join us. Regardless, we hope to be organizing more with you when you return from the summer break.

Picket Wednesday September 16th! Stop RETALIATION!

by Democracy Insurgent; d.insurg@gmail.com

Over the last several weeks, the University has stepped up its attacks on people working against budget cuts and for their jobs. While custodians have continued to meet with students and with eachother, management is increasingly creative, including scheduling meetings during planned rallies, putting workers on "administrative leave" in preparation for firings, isolated custodians who are strong organizers alone in far off buildings, and most recently, using police force to intimidate both students and workers!

We will not stand for this kind of abuse! Come out Wednesday September 16th for compact picket in front of Gerberding Hall, to show UW that this abuse will not stand. This will be a continuation of events from the 9th, and will be building torwards more large actions in the fall! Please join us at 1:30 PM, and let us know if you or your campus/community group wants to get involved in future actions!

PRESS RELEASE: RALLY SEPT 9TH!

Press Contacts

d.insurg@gmail.com

Press Release
September 9, 2009

Workers and Students Stand Up Together; Remember Korean Worker

A Group of Students, Trades, Young Workers, and Custodians Fight Against Retaliation and Abuse, and Remember In Soo Chun


After an entire summer of working together, custodians and their families, skilled trades, and students gathered together in Red Square to speak out against speed-ups, excessive work, unsafe conditions, union busting, and management retaliation. Some held signs and spoke about workplace injuries and disrespectful managers, while others held photos of In Soo Chun, a former custodian who self-immolated in front Gerberding Hall, where the President's office is located. Many custodians see their current situation as a continuation of the oppressive environment that In Soo Chun faced prior to his death. Text on the signs echoed this by asking "Who killed In Soo Chun?" and "Gene Woodard, do you remember In Soo Chun."

President Mark Emmert claims to use a "market-driven model" to implement budget cuts, which many claim has put the health and safety of workers at risk. Since January, custodians have been given extra work and much larger areas to clean, trades have taken on more jobs than they feel they can perform safely, and TAs' class sizes have increased. For example, TAs in the social sciences are now teaching 25-40 more students per quarter than in the past; UW tower now only has 5 custodians to clean all 22 floors; and one painter is responsible for 63 buildings. The speed ups and overwhelming workloads have led to a rise in workplace injuries. In addition to concerns about their own safety, some custodians worry that since they have been forced switch to spot cleaning, there is a danger that an outbreak of swine flue could erupt at UW; just yesterday there was such an outbreak at Washington State University. Facing such dire situations, workers have been fighting to improve their conditions. Last May and June, large rallies with hundreds of people drew the attention of the entire city.

But since the rallies last spring, custodians, students, and trades are all feeling the effects of retaliation. Workers say they have been increasingly harassed by managers, who they feel are trying to intimidate them and keep them from fighting for their rights. When workers are ill or have an injury that doesn't allow them to do certain jobs, managers often do not abide by the doctors' notes, saying that custodians must continue doing unsafe work, or face consequences. Gizachew Kassa has said of the harassment that "managers treat us with no respect, like we're not people. If they want to say something, they do not say it privately, they say it in front of everyone. It is embarrassing and unnecessary." Jamie Miller, a painter at the university, is upset that the University is not their contract negotiating fairly. "They keep stalling the contract negotiations. Meanwhile they are contracting out projects to non-union people. This is clearly an attempt to bust the union," Miller said.

Approximately 40-50 people came to the rally, more than many expected, and it lasted half an hour. The brevity of the rally was due in large part to one manager of day-shift custodians scheduling a last minute mandatory meeting at 11:15, in the middle of the 11 AM rally. Wen Liu, a recent UW graduate who helped organize the rally, said, "The fact that this many custodians and trades came out in the face of really nasty and increased harassment is a big deal. This is only the first in a series of actions this fall, where the people of the university are going to confront these abusive and exploitative practices. We expect huge momentum when students return in the fall and see unsafe classrooms, overstuffed quiz sections, and fewer support staff like tutors and advisors; all of which they are paying 14% more tuition for."

The rally was unique because several different sectors of campus came together to support each other and express their collective outrage. Jacob Greenberg, a teaching assistant in History, identified the struggles as interconnected: "We are not just fighting for the other workers on campus. We are also workers, and this 'private model' is making us work inhumane hours and provide a much poorer quality experience for undergraduates." Young workers who attended the rally believe that if they don't fight alongside the custodians, trades, and TAs, then working conditions will only worsen until they will be forced to "work 60 hour weeks, with no benefits or protections against managerial abuse," said Ian Morgan, a school teacher. And when asked why the trades came out to the rally, Miller explained: "We were facing a lot of similar problems, and when we saw the custodians stand up and fight, we knew we had to fight along with them."

SEPTEMBER 9th RALLY PRESS

Press Advisory Excerpt for Rally September 9th!

WHAT: Last October, a Korean school teacher, academic, and former UW Custodian In Soo Chun took his own life by self-immolating on UW Red Square in front of President Mark Emmert's office in protest to his firing and poor treatment during his 4 years at the University. Since last spring, workers have been fighting against lay offs, shift changes, and safety concerns. On September 9th, In Soo Chun's fellow workers are rallying partially in response to retaliation and abuses by management. In addition to direct retaliation, workers face extra workloads, unsafe working environments due to speed-ups and new cleaning chemicals, and the threat of more firings and lay-offs. Meanwhile, President Emmert, who makes over $906,000/year is getting new perks this fall. Custodians have previously fought alongside students over these cuts; this upcoming rally marks the first in this series of actions slated for this year to include trades folks as well. Both trades and custodians are fighting against the negative impacts of privatization including contracted out work, union busting, speed ups, team or "gang" cleaning, extra runs, and most significantly, unsafe working environments that have led to several injuries and more potential injuries among workers. Additionally, the union contract is currently being negotiated under a veil of secrecy. Both custodians and trades' workers demand the university negotiate in good faith and quit stalling. Students, teaching assistants, custodians, trades, and other workers and unemployed youth will be marching during the dayshift custodians' break at 11 AM from Red Square to the office of Charles Kennedy, assistant director of Facilities Services, near the Husky Union Building.

WHEN: September 9th, 2009 at 11 AM

WHERE: Start in Red Square for a speak out and rally; march to Charles Kennedy's Office, Facilities Services (Physical Plant Office Building; behind the HUB, adjacent to Hall Health)

CALL TO SUBMISSIONS! ZINE THIS FALL!

Call for Submissions
Real Dawgs Fight Back: Workers take back the U

Submissions by September 12th, 2009. Between 300-750 words; alternatively, other formats (such as maps, diagrams, interviews, and pictures) 1/2 page or 1 full page in size. Submit to d.insurg@gmail.com

Are you a worker? UW employee? Student? Teacher? Parent? Partner? Taking out loans? Seattle or Western Washington resident? Housed? Un-housed?

Our VISION for this ZINE is to present the experiences of those who have ties to the University of Washington, broadly, and are affected by uneven and oppressively implemented budget cuts. The U is supposed to be THE public university of the STATE OF WASHINGTON but the UW administration wants to use the economic crisis as an excuse to turn it into a more exclusive, oppressive, and elite campus. Alternately, this publication will help us re-envision the struggle of the University as a public resource through the struggle of all working folks.

Therefore, we seek submissions about but not limited to the topics of: safety concerns and management retaliation as a result of contracting out/privatization; layoffs, speed-ups, firing; increased class size, change in pedagogy/curriculum; cutting of programs or resources; change in workplace politics/oppression; UPASS/Parking; family burdens; implications of globalization for education and voices from international students; hope, resistance, alternatives! We stand in solidarity with workers across the world, and invite submissions linking UW to other parts of the world that are directly affected by capital, labor, and military actions in the US/Seattle!

We are framing this call as "we are all workers" to emphasize the fact that the university is not separate from the rest of society. Workers and students are told that they are different from one another; in reality, we are all laboring for the University; but the money and resources gained from our efforts are being kept from us. Now more than ever, we need to ask, this is a University by whom for whom? We reject the idea that workers can only be oppressed victims. We find strength in the notion that we are all workers, because we are ultimately the ones who can take control of our labor and relationships and use them to build a better university and a better society than our managers envision. By acknowledging that we are all workers, we can start to understand how we need to work together as staff, students, community members, and families to take control of our own lives, as they are affected by the work we do in the University. We are all impacted by uneven budget cuts that are framed in terms of inevitability caused by the economic crisis, in order to keep us from fighting back. We want to show that there is a lot at stake when we are forced to "suck it up" as workers and as students. We furthermore reject the idea that we are only students or only workers. We are all students and workers at the same time. We are either accumulating debt in school, laboring in class and at a work-study or outside-the-U job, employees of the U (staff, TA, RA, etc), or unemployed workers looking for education and work. Those who work and don't attend classes here should have access to those classes. Many UW employees, from custodians to painters, are students of society, mastering not only our own jobs and trades but also raising and studying broader questions about the economy, politics, and values of the world we live in. We are students especially as we get organized to fight for more control over our jobs. We have a lot to learn from each other.

This is not a new vision. It has been tried, and battles have been waged by our predecessors in the 1960s, and before. Those demanded access to education for women and people of color. The struggle for black studies and ethnic studies in colleges around the country, the struggles for admission of people of color into formerly all white institutions was a victory that is constantly under attack. WE refuse to stand by and watch these hard won struggles be rolled back. We demand the same as previous struggles, AND MORE!

This understanding demands that we recognize that the global economic crisis we are facing is not because of some accident, but because of unsustainable and violent decisions made by the state and corporations, working together to increase profits at the cost of the lives and livelihoods of everyday people. In particular, this crisis disproportionately affects women, queer folks, folks of color, and folks with disabilities. The University is no exception; budget cuts disproportionally fall on our backs while squeezing profit out of us through a process of privatization that raises tuition, abuses workers with retaliation and unsafe work environments, causes work-wide speed-ups, and further marginalizes folks who built the university with their labor. Therefore, we are calling for the UW to be a truly public institution-- a community center for the entire city and region, an educational and intellectual resource controlled by everyday people, and in particular by those most affected by exploitation. We do NOT want UW to be a private university for the elite to reinforce oppression against ordinary people, nor do we want it to function as an arm of the state used to create "good workers" who will be docile and exploited in society during school and after graduation. We pay for the university with taxes, labor, emotional ties, relationships, and commitment. The University IS us, and we demand control!