Valentine has been all over the place ever since i arrived here in january. Red everywhere (mostly in shops of course), hearts, announcement of activities… i was sure i’d be ranting about love and capitalism and consumerism in this space today, but that was before we joined the Student Worker Coalition for Justice (SWCJ). Now i can write you about love and justice. SWCJ joined the AFSCEME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) union in a rally today to demand higher wages for the custodians cleaning and taking care of the campus. Where’s the love drew attention to the fact that wages of custodians on campus are less than in neighboring colleges, that these are not living wages at all, and that the university has a lot to account for with the scandal about manager’s wages and corruption plus the raise in tuition fees. (of course, the state and federal goverments also have a lot to account for, with the cuts in money for education – that wasn’t really mentioned). A big broken heart with messages from custodians and students was given to a representative of the Chancellor.
Where’s the love action. Got Valentine’s Love or Exploitation?
Did you know that UC custodians make two dollars less than custodians at Cabrillo college and Montery State?
And, UC custodians earn wages that could not meet basic needs for a single adult with a child.
Also, student fees have gone up by 8-10%.
And what is the Chancellor doing about the rampant corruption amongst UC administrators.
Let’s have a happy valentine’s day by demanding that the Chancellor start implementing some justice and start paying a living wage to the workers on campus.
Même s’il n’y avait pas beaucoup de monde, l’alliance entre les gardiens et les étudiants était beau et fort. N’empêche que une manif dans ce campus au milieu de la forêt m’a fait une drôle d’impression… Inevitablement j’ai du penser aux mots de Kristy – que cette université a été construit (avec le “mauvais example” de Berkeley en tête) de telle manière que la possibilité de révoltes soit reduite. Maria a fait un peu de recherche, et apparement c’est plus compliqué que ca, mais reste qu’il n’y ait pas vraiment de centre, pas de “coeur” au campus et que pour la manif on a marché de la bibliothèque jusqu’au batiment du recteur (un peu caché dans la forêt) avec seulement les redwoods comme nos témoins.