Budgets balanced on our backs
Thousands of students, faculty and campus workers participated in a one-day walkout across the 10 campuses of the University of California (UC) system on September 24. The action was the biggest mobilization yet against billions of dollars in budget cuts that are devastating state programs--including nearly $1 billion taken from the UC system.
At the 4,000-strong rally at UC Berkeley, groundskeeper and AFSCME Local 3299 member Kathryn Lybarger spoke to the crowd and read out this statement from the union.
WE ARE the workers of AFSCME 3299 at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. We take pride in our work, because we keep the campus and the lab clean, safe, healthy and well-run for everyone.
Although we know that the state budget has left the UC with less money this year, we are tired of the UC administration balancing the budget on our backs. We want the university to stop spending millions of dollars on raises for executives and new buildings, and prioritize students, faculty and the workers and the services we provide that make the UC excellent.
Therefore, we demand, let our people work! Stop all layoffs, furloughs and campus closures. Bathrooms still need to be cleaned, and light bulbs still need to be changed. The work we do keeps this campus running, and there's plenty of it.
We demand that the Chancellor rescind all current and future layoffs of our workers, including the 42 maintenance workers, custodians and store keepers who have been laid off. We also demand that the University rescind contracts for any work that laid-off workers are able to perform. Additionally, we demand that the university commit to not implement furloughs and, during campus closures, let our people work--as they have every year.
Two, respect our contract! We struggled for two years to get raises and wages that lift us and our families out of poverty. We refuse to let the university roll back our gains and walk all over our contract--one that they agreed to. We demand that the UC leave our contract alone and not implement pay cuts, temporary reductions in time, or furloughs of any kind.
Three, protect the health and safety of Berkeley by maintaining full staffing. Before layoffs, we've been experiencing short-staffing for years. This bare-bones approach is pushing the health and safety of Berkeley and the lab to the edge.
Buildings on campus are going uncleaned for weeks. The Tang Center is short-staffed and preparing for record cases of swine flu. By running short-staffed, the campus is stretched thin and so are workers. Injuries and illnesses are at an all-time high. We demand that not only the UC Berkeley rescind all layoff notices, but commit to hire more staff to help keep the campus clean and safe.
We want to keep the UC public, accountable and accessible. We support Berkeley student, faculty and community efforts to keep the UC accessible to the people of California. We demand the immediate opening of the UC's budget and an end to the raising of student fees, an end to cuts to other faculty and staff and an end to the privatization of the University. This includes our demand to cease any contracting out of any of our work including bus services on campus and at the lab.
