Open letter to Mark Emmert: Come to the Picket Lines!!

On February 2nd, 2010, Mark Emmert and others gave a "town hall" on the budget cuts (see more here).  Students and workers responded, and were angry--he told us to go to olympia, while the cuts here are being made by him, Charles Kennedy, Gene Woodard, and other top-level administrators.  We wrote this letter as UW SWC to see if Emmert is serious bout supporting workers and students of color!

February 19, 2010 

Open Letter to Mark Emmert: 

 

On February 2nd, 2010, you, along with 4 other panelists, were part of a Town Hall meeting concerning the 2010 budget cuts to financial aid at the University of Washington.  Student after student questioned you on the financial situation at UW, particularly regarding why, when the UW budget is growing, these devastating cuts to students and workers on campus are being instituted.  Additionally, you were questioned on how the cuts to financial aid would affect students of color and working class/low income students.  Repetitively, you answered these questions by asserting your allegiance to students and to diversity on this campus.  Specifically, you cite your commitment to the Husky Promise, a program you created and are very proud of.  Furthermore, you continue to place blame at the feet of the state legislators as well as donors to this school who apparently specify where their donations should go.  You cite this as the reason for why money cannot be moved around to alleviate the effects of these cuts to students and workers on campus.  You say you want to fight to keep diversity alive and hold on to the Husky Promise. 

When questioned about the layoffs of custodians and other workers on campus, you said that as the person with ultimate firing power, it is a very difficult job deciding who should be let go.  However, it seems hypocritical to say this while the university hires more managers and supervisors in custodial services and the trades, and while many administrators and directors continue to make over $150,000.  In fact, Charles Kennedy, Associate Vice President of Facilities Services received a 30% raise from 2007 to 2009, bumping his salary up from $200,000 to $260,000.

We are glad that under pressure from the UW community, top administrators agreed to give 5% of their salaries to a scholarship fund. However, this leaves many top administrators with salaries well in excess of $150,000 per year. It should not be a voluntary choice, but instead a UW policy that salaries be capped at $150,000 a year. Instead of recapturing $600,000 as this 5% voluntary contribution does, a firm salary cap would restore over $5 million to the UW budget. This $5 million could be used to re-hire laid off workers, increase class offerings, reverse speedup/overwork for workers, reduce tuition or increase support to the libraries. All of these projects are far more important and useful to the UW than maintaining the exorbitant salaries of top administrators.

At the Town Hall, you expressed that you would like to see students lobbying for our demands in Olympia.  We, the UW Student/Worker Coalition, are committed to fighting against the budget cuts here at UW.  You accused one of us of not being in Olympia to lobby on a daily basis, but this is an unreasonable expectation.  How can full-time workers and students, many of whom have jobs, afford to travel to Olympia regularly?  We will make a few trips and we were there on February 15th, rallying and demanding that the legislature fork over what we need.  But, we also believe that students and workers on this campus should not have to bear the brunt of the damaging effects of these cuts, including the potential layoffs of workers, as well as cuts to financial aid and student services.  Members of our coalition were present at the Town Hall meeting and found your answers to be inadequate when you were questioned on the financial situation.  Instead, since you seem so adamant about fighting these cuts, we propose that you support our coalition’s efforts in organizing a mass movement of students and workers on campus to fight back. 

 

The UW Student/Worker Coalition is planning a student strike against budget cuts on March 4th, 2010 here at UW- Seattle beginning at 1 PM on the Quad.  March 4th is the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education.  Students and workers all over the country will be engaging in actions to demand that public education be fully funded in a way that does not subjugate the needs of workers, working class students, students of color, women, queer folks, and people with disabilities.  On this day, we are calling for a student strike to send a strong message to Olympia that students and workers have the power to stop business as usual.  If you really want to defend public education, you, Mark Emmert, should support our action.  First, publicly announce your support.  Secondly, mandate that all professors and managers not retaliate against those that participate in the action. Make it clear that if any professor or manager fires, disciplines, grades down, or otherwise punishes a student or worker for participating in the strike then you will fire that person.   Finally, walk the picket lines with us to truly show your support for students on this campus. 

 

On the webpage for the Husky Promise Scholarship, you are quoted saying, "The Husky Promise is our guarantee to the state’s kids that if you work hard, there’s a spot for you here."1  However, this “promise” seems to be in a precarious position.  According to you, “We will not be able to offer the Husky-Promise program if those cuts come to pass.”2  You implore the campus community to join the struggle against the budget cuts, acknowledging that “We have to work together, collectively…”3  Well, we feel the same way.  However, we challenge you to truly demonstrate your commitment to working collectively with the students and workers at UW.  How much do you mean what you say about the Husky Promise and the importance of diversity on campus?  How far are you willing to go to support students of color?  How badly do you want to stop firing immigrant workers?  Will you join our efforts to unite the campus and fight together, “collectively?” 

 

We expect an answer by February 25th, 2010 at 12pm. 

 

 

Sincerely, 

 

UW Student/Worker Coalition

UWStudentWorkerCoalition@gmail.com 

 

Response to President Emmert

Below is a response written by an ABC member to president Emmert, linking budget cuts concerns and TC3; this letter was cc'd to Doug Wadden, Norm Arkans, and Phyllis Wise:

Subject: Tent City 3
Date: August 2, 2009


Dear President Emmert,
I am very disappointed to hear of your decision not to allow UW to host Tent City 3, despite the fact that the proposal put forth by Students for Civic Engagement on Homelessness won the support of ASUW, GPSS Senate, and Faculty Senate, and despite numerous actions and events put on both by residents of TC3, students, faculty, and workers at UW, and members of the greater Seattle community

As I am sure you are aware, Tent Cities have been hosted by educational institutions in the past, and have served as an important tool for engaging students with issues of poverty and lack of affordable housing and jobs. As a teacher, graduate student, and advocate for persons facing homelessness and hospitalization, I am extremely upset that UW is missing this opportunity, and that the residents of Tent City will have to find another place to move, despite such vast resources at the University.

It's safe to say that as an educator, my most engaged, successful, and promising students are those who have worked with un-employed or under-employed members of their communities, including people who are un-housed. Additionally, a number of my students come from families that have experienced or are experiencing homelessness. What kind of message does this send to students in these situations about UW's values? Students of color, students with disabilities, and students from non-traditional families are already experiencing economic and social violence due to the budget cuts imposed unevenly on students, workers, and graduate students at UW. For example, many custodial staff facing abuses due to decisions made around the budget have children who go to the University, or would like to. Not allowing Tent City 3 is yet another assault by the elite within the University against those who are not already privileged.

In your letter to SCEH, you said that "To introduce a tent city into this mix would compound the complexity of our daily activity in ways that would further complicate the business of the University,". This language, in addition to comments you have made about using a private model to run the University, is disturbing and in contradiction to comments you have made about the openness of UW, and to the overall mission of public education. UW is a place for learning, not business, and this is a time when the University, as a public institution should be reaching out to community members, city residents, and leaders in public affairs. Instead, the University is further alienating itself; and you, as president, are explicitly and embarrassingly positioning it for an even further ostracization from the rest of the city. If UW is really going to claim not to be an elitist institution, it needs to stop favoring the salaries of you, its president, and other upper level administration through eliminating opportunities for women, people with disabilities, people of color, immigrants, and workers--all of whom have been specifically targeted by budget cuts. Not allowing TC3 to come to UW campus despite enormous student, faculty, and community need is a poor decision for public relations, but also for all who interact with UW, and for UW's future in Seattle.

President Emmert Blocks Tent City 3--Despite overwhelming support!

After almost a year of work by students, community members, faculty, workers, and activists, President Mark Emmert at UW has unilaterally decided not to allow Tent City 3 to set up at UW, despite overwhelming student, grad student, and faculty support. See the message from Students for Civic Engagement with Homelessness (SCEH) below. Below their message, see a response from an ABC member. We in ABC see this struggle as related to budget cuts in a number of ways. Mark Emmert claimed that part of the reason he decided not to support TC3 was due to other things at the university--again he is acting as if the dire situation of folks at UW is inevitable, when in fact, it is the direct result of decisions made by upper level administrators!
You can visit the SCEH at
http://sites.google.com/site/tc3atuw/; send them a letter of support, and answer their call to tell Emmert what you think of his decision! Feel free to take up some of our points, or lay on your own!

From SCEH, via Facebook:
Subject: The President's Decision

Friends,

Yesterday we received the disappointing news that President Emmert has denied our request that the U.W. host Tent City in spite of the fact the proposal had won the support of the ASUW Senate, GPSS Senate and Faculty Senate.

Before I go on, let me pause to thank all of you for the support you have given with respect to our proposal to host Tent City 3 at the University of Washington. Without you, this proposal never would have been anything more than an idea.

Although this decision has been made for now, we feel that this is far from the end to this debate. Our group, Students for Civic Engagement on Homelessness, is planning numerous events for the fall, where we hope to see you. These include an art exhibit, teach in, and fundraiser for tent city. We hope that through encouraging the already present dialogue surrounding this issue we can continue to keep this subject at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Please feel free to express your thoughts on the decision by letters to the editor, to Mark Emmert himself, and the list of other administrators whose e-mails are located at the bottom of this page.

Again thank you for your continued support, and please look for further e-mails in the fall regarding the events mentioned above.

On behalf of SCEH,
Hunter Marshall (treasurer)

Mark Emmert - pres@u.washington.edu
Doug Wadden - djwad@u.washington.edu
Norm Arkans - arkans@u.washington.edu
Phyllis Wise - provost@u.washington.edu
--------------------

Open Letter to Board of Regents

On June 5, 2009, ABC Coalition sent the following letter to the Board of Regents, as well as to several press outlets. This letter was straegically planned prior to the June 11th Board of Regents meeting and accompanying rally. Stay tuned for links to press from the rally itself.

June 5, 2009


Open Letter to the University of Washington Board of Regents



On May 28th, members of the Anti-Budget Cuts Coalition presented a series of demands to the Board of Regents at the town hall meeting. These demands were summarized within an alternative Public Budget.


The ABC Coalition demanded a response to this budget by June 10th, 2009.


At the town hall, the Regents refused to engage in conversation with students, workers, and community members. They would not answer questions and were not interested in dialogue. They will be voting at the June 11th Board of Regents meeting on the budget presented by the University administration without ever having been accountable to the demands and questions of the University community.

We demand that the Board of Regents on June 11th take two hours during their meeting to discuss the budget with all those present. This would include putting all options on the table and the Board of Regents either defending the cuts that disproportionately affect women, people of color, immigrants, and workers, or rejecting the budget and requiring that the UW administration resubmit a budget based on the guidelines presented in the Public Budget. These guidelines include:

-A public statement rejecting the 25% cuts from Olympia

-Moratorium on staff and TA layoffs across UW campuses

-No tuition hikes

- Impose a salary cap on administrators making above 150,000

-Exhaust exiting “rainy day” funds and endowments before passing costs on to students and workers

-Stop closure of any library services

-Reject privatization of the university and the high-tuition model

-Use profitable athletics programs to finance educational programs

-Divert state funds for nonessential projects


Several issues in particular were highlighted at the town hall meeting on May 28th which require a response from the Board of Regents. These include:

-The Reorganization of Custodial Services: While swingshift workers have won a partial victory by postponing the shift transfer to daytime, they are still facing a loss of pay and the threat of a permanent shift transfer. Additionally, dayshift workers have been reassigned to different parts of campus, creating extra hardship including walking 45 minutes at 4 am from their designated parking lot to their place of work. Management has been making changes without regard for the well being of all custodians, and we demand an end to their heavy-handed changes.

-The Women’s Center Budget Cuts: While other programs have been cut by 12% on average, the Women’s Center's state funding has been cut in half. This poses devastating consequences to the people who access the Center’s services. This includes young women who are first generation college students, survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, nontraditional students, or women who are underrepresented in their fields of study.

-The End of the Disability Studies Program: The budget for the Disability Studies program may be cut so drastically that the program may have to cancel its scheduled classes for Fall 2009. These courses are critical for both students with disabilities and others to advocate for equal access to the University’s campus and programs, and they are very popular as they are full every quarter. Disability Studies contributes to many fields of study in both the arts and sciences, including Rehabilitation Science, Access Technology, and Law. In order for this vital program to continue to thrive, it needs sufficient funding.


While the University administration denies all such charges, it is clear that the cuts disproportionately affects people who have been historically been excluded from the University: women, students of color, people with disabilities, and immigrant, low-income workers. Drastic cuts, layoffs, or reorganizations are not happening in the most profitable departments or to the most highly paid administrators. We understand that, in fact, many highly paid administrators have received raises of 15- 30% in the past several years, and yet are not rolling back these boons of prosperous times in this time of economic crisis.


The ABC Coalition demands that the UW Board of Regents reserve time in their June 11th meeting from 1230 pm to 230 pm to discuss the budget with students, workers, and community members.


If the Board of Regents and the administration refuse to cooperate with the University community and ignore the demands of the ABC Coalition, this fight will not be over. We will continue to struggle against the undemocratic, elitist tendencies of the Board and administration until students and workers have a democratic say in the future of the University of Washington.