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THE GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
www.cagreens.org
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Contact: Sara Amir, spokesperson 310.270.7106 saraamir@earthlink.net
Kevin McKeown, spokesperson 310.393.3639 kevin@mckeown.net
Beth Moore Haines, spokesperson 530.277.0610 beth@ncws.com
Green Party supports Thursday strike set by
low-wage workers at the University of California, asks UC to bargain in
good faith.
OAKLAND (April 13, 2005) - The Green Party of
California has pledged its support and solidarity with low-wage workers
at all 10 University of California campuses who have announced that a
campus-wide strike will begin this Thursday morning.
AFSCME (American Federation of State County and
Municipal Employees) union members voted overwhelmingly in March to
authorize a system-wide strike on behalf of 7,300 workers against the UC
to protest bad faith bargaining. Workers have not had a contract for
nearly a year, and earn much less than workers at other state colleges.
Greens are expected to honor the picket lines and
join strikers on the front lines. The GPCA platform states employees in
the U.S. and around the world have the right to organize and operate a
democratic, member-run union to assure their workplace rights.
"Suppressed wages and the cost of living in
Berkeley force many workers to spend hours commuting on public transit.
Low paid UC workers live in Oakland's district 2, in Hayward, Richmond,
and even more outlying areas. I support the April 14th actions of AFSCME,
and call on the UC administration to negotiate in good faith and work
toward a fair and livable wage for the AFSCME workers," said Aimee
Allison, candidate in the Oakland city council district 2 race of May 17
"Many of my coworkers cannot support their
families while UC gave out hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses
to chancellors this past year. But they withheld money earmarked for
workers when Arnold failed to honor his promises. We haven't had a raise
in three years and the students, faculty and staff of the University
suffer," said Hank Chapot, Green Party member and gardener at UC
Berkeley.
AFSCME Local 3299 has filed unfair labor practice
charges demanding UC stop interfering with members' rights and
attempting to intimidate them. Negotiations have stalled on more than 30
issues, including fair wages and an end to discrimination and favoritism
in hiring and promotions. UC service employees are mostly immigrants and
minorities who have not received a raise in more than two years. A
recent report found that almost half of UC's service workers earned
wages too low to support a four-person family even if they had a working
spouse.
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