Fw: HARVARD SIT_IN (fwd)

[" George Snedeker" <snedeker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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From: Ali Shehzad Zaidi <az001g@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Sent: Friday, April 20, 2001 5:41 PM
Subject: HARVARD SIT_IN (fwd)


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> From: Ben Manski <mdwstnaderladuke@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: HARVARD SIT_IN
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> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 22:01:36 -0700
> Subject: Harvard living wage sit-in
>
> 4/18/01
>
> 40 members of the Harvard Living Wage Campaign have just
> entered a Harvard administrative building to demand a living
> wage of at least $10.25/hr plus benefits for all Harvard
> employees. After more than two years of the Harvard administration
> ignoring or inadequately addressing our very simple request, the
> Living Wage Campaign has been forced to escalate pressure on the
> University with a peaceful sit-in.
>
> NOW: All the maintenance unions are turning out workers right now.
> Please join us IMMEDIATELY in Harvard Yard to support the necessary
> actions of the protesters and join them in demanding a living wage.
> If you live outside of the area (or when you get back from the rally),
> please take a moment to call and e-mail the following administrators:
>
> Neil Rudenstine, President (617) 495-1502, beverly_sullivan@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Harvey Fineberg, Provost, (617) 496-5100, harvey_fineberg@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Sally Zeckhauser, VP for Administration, sally_zeckhauser@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Harry Lewis, Dean of Harvard College, lewis@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Polly Price, Associate VP for Human Resources, polly_price@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Contact them to demand that the University pay all Harvard workers
> a living wage, and insist that the administration negotiate with the
> students sitting in. The safety of the students inside and the struggle
> for a living wage rely on your support. Please forward this message
> widely. 7 PM: Living Wage Panel Emerson Hall 105. Hear author of
> Living Wage Prof. Robert Polin, civil rights leader Rev. James
> Lawson, Cambridge City Council members, and a Harvard custodian
> speak about the importance of immediately implementing a living wage.
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> In 1998, the Cambridge City Council began working toward a living wage
> ordinance for all city employees. At the same time, Harvard students,
> faculty members, and workers joined together to demand that Harvard
> University, the largest employer in Cambridge, live up to these
> standards.
> Today, over 1,000 Harvard workers are paid wages as low as $6.50 per
> hour
> without benefits. This is a wage that puts a parent with one child well
> below the federal poverty line, forcing many to work at least 90 hour
> weeks
> in order to support themselves. We insist that all direct and
> outsourced
> Harvard employees be paid a wage of at least $10.25/hr -- the same
> living
> wage paid by the City of Cambridge.
>
> We are sitting in because we have exhausted every avenue of dialogue
> with
> the administration that could lead to a living wage. Since March 1999,
> we
> have met repeatedly with administrators. We have asked to meet with the
> Harvard Corporation, the University's governing body, and have been
> refused. The meetings we did have uniformly consisted of administrative
> refusals to adopt or even consider a living wage policy. Since the Ad
> Hoc
> Committee on Employment Policies released its recommendations in May
> 2000-rejecting the implementation of any wage standard whatsoever for
> Harvard workers-administrators have told us that the issue is closed:
> they
> will consider no further changes, or even investigations into possible
> changes.
>
> We are sitting in because we have exhausted every other strategy when
> dialogue with the administration has failed. We have written op-eds,
> sponsored teach-ins, collected student, faculty and parent petitions,
> and
> organized alumni/ae to refuse to donate money to Harvard. We have
> spoken on
> both local and national television and radio and at conferences on
> labor
> and economic affairs. We have sponsored dozens of public
> demonstrations,
> and we have tried less imposing forms of direct action: in April 2000,
> we
> occupied Harvard's admissions office for one day during Pre-Frosh
> Weekend,
> distributing literature and holding teach-ins.
>
> We are sitting in because administrators have not only failed to
> improve
> wages and benefits, but have aggressively worked to slash them as
> support
> for a living wage policy has grown. In the face of opposition from
> unions,
> workers, faculty, and students, the university has outsourced hundreds
> of
> obs to firms which pay poverty-level wages and benefits. The university
> claims that it has in fact worked to extend benefit packages to more
> workers through the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Employment
> Policies;
> but in fact, only 19 workers have received benefits through this
> report,
> because Harvard offered the packages for exorbitant monthly fees-as
> much as
> $100 to $200 per month. Many workers say that they were never even
> notified
> of their new access to benefits.
>
> We are sitting in because Harvard's wage and benefit policies threaten
> the
> economic survival and violate the dignity of university workers, and
> our
> community overwhelmingly recognizes this fact. Every campus union, 30
> students groups, all 8 Harvard unions, over 150 Harvard faculty
> members,
> over 2000 students, and over 100 alumni/ae have endorsed the campaign.
> Support for a living wage at Harvard extends far beyond the
> university's
> gates: dozens of community, religious, and labor organizations have
> endorsed the Campaign or taken part in demonstrations. The Cambridge
> City
> Council has twice passed resolutions or orders calling on Harvard to
> implement a living wage policy.
>
> Finally, a wide array of intellectuals, journalists, labor and civil
> rights
> leaders, activists, and celebrities have endorsed our campaign and
> spoken
> for it, including actor Matt Damon, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond,
> linguist
> Noam Chomsky, writer Barbara Ehrenreich, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and
> historian
> Howard Zinn. For these reasons, we are sitting in to demand that all
> Harvard workers, whether directly employed or hired through outside
> firms,
> must be paid a living wage of at least $10.25 per hour, adjusted
> annually
> to inflation, and with basic health benefits.
>
> Thank you for your support,
> The Harvard Living Wage Campaign,
> www.hcs.harvard.edu/~pslm/livingwage
> www.livingwagenow.com
>
>
> Dan Clawson
> clawson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> office 413-545-5974
> fax 413-545-0746
> home 413-586-6235
> W-36C Machmer Hall, Department of Sociology
> Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst MA 01003
>
>
> * * *  Ben Manski * * *
> Campus Greens, National Director
>   http://www.campusgreenparties.org/
> Center for Campus Organizing
>   http://www.cco.org/
> 180/Movement for Democracy and Education
>   http://corporations.org/democracy
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices
> --0-1478170864-987796197=:24530
> Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------<BR>Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001
22:01:36 -0700<BR>Subject: Harvard living wage
sit-in<BR><BR>4/18/01<BR><BR>40 members of the Harvard Living Wage Campaign
have just<BR>entered a Harvard administrative building to demand a
living<BR>wage of at least $10.25/hr plus benefits for all
Harvard<BR>employees. After more than two years of the Harvard
administration<BR>ignoring or inadequately addressing our very simple
request, the<BR>Living Wage Campaign has been forced to escalate pressure on
the<BR>University with a peaceful sit-in.<BR><BR>NOW: All the maintenance
unions are turning out workers right now.<BR>Please join us IMMEDIATELY in
Harvard Yard to support the necessary<BR>actions of the protesters and join
them in demanding a living wage.<BR>If you live outside of the area (or when
you get back from the rally),<BR>please take a moment to call and e-mail the
following administrators:<BR><BR>Neil Rudenstine, President (617) 495-1502,
<A href="!
>
http://us.f42.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=beverly_sullivan@xxxxxxxxxxx&amp;
YY=70970&amp;order=down&amp;sort=date">beverly_sullivan@xxxxxxxxxxx</A><BR>H
arvey Fineberg, Provost, (617) 496-5100, <A
href="http://us.f42.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=harvey_fineberg@xxxxxxxxxxx
&amp;YY=70970&amp;order=down&amp;sort=date">harvey_fineberg@xxxxxxxxxxx</A><
BR>Sally Zeckhauser, VP for Administration, <A
href="http://us.f42.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=sally_zeckhauser@xxxxxxxxxx
u&amp;YY=70970&amp;order=down&amp;sort=date">sally_zeckhauser@xxxxxxxxxxx</A
><BR>Harry Lewis, Dean of Harvard College, <A
href="http://us.f42.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=lewis@xxxxxxxxxxx&amp;YY=70
970&amp;order=down&amp;sort=date">lewis@xxxxxxxxxxx</A><BR>Polly Price,
Associate VP for Human Resources, <A
href="http://us.f42.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=polly_price@xxxxxxxxxxx&amp
;YY=70970&amp;order=down&amp;sort=date">polly_price@xxxxxxxxxxx</A><BR><BR>C
ontact them to demand that the University pay all Harvard w!
> orkers<BR>a living wage, and insist that the administration negotiate with
the<BR>students sitting in. The safety of the students inside and the
struggle<BR>for a living wage rely on your support. Please forward this
message<BR>widely. 7 PM: Living Wage Panel Emerson Hall 105. Hear author
of<BR>Living Wage Prof. Robert Polin, civil rights leader Rev.
James<BR>Lawson, Cambridge City Council members, and a Harvard
custodian<BR>speak about the importance of immediately implementing a living
wage.<BR><BR><BR>-----------------------------------------------------------
----------<BR><BR>In 1998, the Cambridge City Council began working toward a
living wage<BR>ordinance for all city employees. At the same time, Harvard
students,<BR>faculty members, and workers joined together to demand that
Harvard<BR>University, the largest employer in Cambridge, live up to these
<BR>standards.<BR>Today, over 1,000 Harvard workers are paid wages as low as
$6.50 per <BR>hour<BR>without benefits. Thi!
> s is a wage that puts a parent with one child well<BR>below the federal
poverty line, forcing many to work at least 90 hour <BR>weeks<BR>in order to
support themselves. We insist that all direct and <BR>outsourced<BR>Harvard
employees be paid a wage of at least $10.25/hr -- the same
<BR>living<BR>wage paid by the City of Cambridge.<BR><BR>We are sitting in
because we have exhausted every avenue of dialogue <BR>with<BR>the
administration that could lead to a living wage. Since March 1999,
<BR>we<BR>have met repeatedly with administrators. We have asked to meet
with the<BR>Harvard Corporation, the University's governing body, and have
been<BR>refused. The meetings we did have uniformly consisted of
administrative<BR>refusals to adopt or even consider a living wage policy.
Since the Ad <BR>Hoc<BR>Committee on Employment Policies released its
recommendations in May<BR>2000-rejecting the implementation of any wage
standard whatsoever for<BR>Harvard workers-administrators have tol!
> d us that the issue is closed: <BR>they<BR>will consider no further
changes, or even investigations into possible<BR>changes.<BR><BR>We are
sitting in because we have exhausted every other strategy when<BR>dialogue
with the administration has failed. We have written op-eds,<BR>sponsored
teach-ins, collected student, faculty and parent petitions,
<BR>and<BR>organized alumni/ae to refuse to donate money to Harvard. We have
<BR>spoken on<BR>both local and national television and radio and at
conferences on <BR>labor<BR>and economic affairs. We have sponsored dozens
of public <BR>demonstrations,<BR>and we have tried less imposing forms of
direct action: in April 2000, <BR>we<BR>occupied Harvard's admissions office
for one day during Pre-Frosh <BR>Weekend,<BR>distributing literature and
holding teach-ins.<BR><BR>We are sitting in because administrators have not
only failed to <BR>improve<BR>wages and benefits, but have aggressively
worked to slash them as <BR>support<BR>for a liv!
> ing wage policy has grown. In the face of opposition from
<BR>unions,<BR>workers, faculty, and students, the university has outsourced
hundreds <BR>of<BR>obs to firms which pay poverty-level wages and benefits.
The university<BR>claims that it has in fact worked to extend benefit
packages to more<BR>workers through the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on
Employment <BR>Policies;<BR>but in fact, only 19 workers have received
benefits through this <BR>report,<BR>because Harvard offered the packages
for exorbitant monthly fees-as <BR>much as<BR>$100 to $200 per month. Many
workers say that they were never even <BR>notified<BR>of their new access to
benefits.<BR><BR>We are sitting in because Harvard's wage and benefit
policies threaten <BR>the<BR>economic survival and violate the dignity of
university workers, and <BR>our<BR>community overwhelmingly recognizes this
fact. Every campus union, 30<BR>students groups, all 8 Harvard unions, over
150 Harvard faculty <BR>members,<BR>over !
> 2000 students, and over 100 alumni/ae have endorsed the
campaign.<BR>Support for a living wage at Harvard extends far beyond the
<BR>university's<BR>gates: dozens of community, religious, and labor
organizations have<BR>endorsed the Campaign or taken part in demonstrations.
The Cambridge <BR>City<BR>Council has twice passed resolutions or orders
calling on Harvard to<BR>implement a living wage policy.<BR><BR>Finally, a
wide array of intellectuals, journalists, labor and civil
<BR>rights<BR>leaders, activists, and celebrities have endorsed our campaign
and <BR>spoken<BR>for it, including actor Matt Damon, NAACP Chairman Julian
Bond, <BR>linguist<BR>Noam Chomsky, writer Barbara Ehrenreich, Rev. Jesse
Jackson, and <BR>historian<BR>Howard Zinn. For these reasons, we are sitting
in to demand that all<BR>Harvard workers, whether directly employed or hired
through outside <BR>firms,<BR>must be paid a living wage of at least $10.25
per hour, adjusted <BR>annually<BR>to inflation, an!
> d with basic health benefits.<BR><BR>Thank you for your support,<BR>The
Harvard Living Wage
Campaign,<BR>www.hcs.harvard.edu/~pslm/livingwage<BR>www.livingwagenow.com<B
R><BR><BR>Dan Clawson<BR><A
href="http://us.f42.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=clawson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx&amp
;YY=70970&amp;order=down&amp;sort=date">clawson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</A><BR>offic
e 413-545-5974<BR>fax 413-545-0746<BR>home 413-586-6235<BR>W-36C Machmer
Hall, Department of Sociology<BR>Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst MA
01003<BR><BR><BR>* * *  Ben Manski * * *<br>Campus Greens, National
Director<br>  http://www.campusgreenparties.org/<br>Center for Campus
Organizing<br>  http://www.cco.org/<br>180/Movement for Democracy and
Education<br>  http://corporations.org/democracy<p><br><hr size=1><b>Do You
Yahoo!?</b><br>
> <a href="http://auctions.yahoo.com/";>Yahoo! Auctions</a> - buy the things
you want at great prices
> --0-1478170864-987796197=:24530--
>
>