May 1, 2000 Columbus, Ohio
For more info, contact Yoshie Furuhashi (at 614-299-3313 / furuhashi.1 at osu.edu) or Mark D. Stansbery (at 614-252-9255 / walk at igc.org).
Strike Begins at OSU; Faculty and Students Pledge Support
On April 30, about one thousand members of Local 4501, Communications Workers of America (representing service and skilled trade workers at the Ohio State University) and supporters held a candlelight vigil for the impending strike from 8 PM, in front of Bricker Hall (the OSU administration building). Don Slaiman of AFL-CIO spoke to workers: "you are fighting not just for you and your families, you are fighting for all the working people in Columbus and beyond. If you win this strike, you'll be pulling up everyone in the area with you." Local 4501 is demanding living wages and a fair contract that treats all CWA members equally (in contrast to the OSU proposal that will give a separate, lesser settlement to the CWA members who work at the OSU Hospitals); the union also opposes the "merit pay" system that will give supervisors a power to exercise favoritism and to punish workers arbitrarily.
At the vigil, faculty and graduate students pledged support for Local 4501. Dr. Claudio Fogu, professor of history at the OSU, highlighted the importance of unity among workers, faculty, and students. Many graduate students, some of whom are grad union organizers themselves, spoke at the mike, emphasizing the need to get the entire campus organized, "because that's the only way to bring justice and democracy to the OSU." Faculty and grad students who support the strike will be wearing yellow ribbons to signify solidarity and holding classes in the union hall and other alternative locations, so as not to cross picket lines. The sit-in at Bricker Hall, which began on April 26, will continue until the OSU will meet the demands of Local 4501.
After the vigil, unionists and supporters moved from the main campus to the University Hospitals, chanting "no contract, no work," to the rhythm of African drums. Workers who just finished their shift walked out of the Hospitals and joined the protest, to thunderous cheer and applause from the crowd. The strike began at midnight, and unionists and supporters will walk the picket lines today. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 2461 bytes Desc: not available URL: <../attachments/20000501/c48e9436/attachment.bin>