December 2007 Newsletter
Message from the Union President
Taking Stock of the 2007 Strike
By Phyllis Walker, Local 3800 President
In October 2003 hundreds of clerical workers at the University of Minnesota walked out and struck the University in the first strike at this institution in over 60 years. AFSCME Local 3800 stayed out for 15 days. We were fighting major takebacks in our contract. We were on the defensive.
We stood and we fought, virtually all of us, for the first time in our lives. For most clerical workers it was a big step and for some of us it was a huge stretch. But we stood together and we fought together and it changed our lives.
When we went back to work, non-union University workers praised our efforts and said they supported us because our cause was just. AFSCME and Teamster workers that had not been part of the strike talked to me about how they wanted to stand up with us. They knew that there was huge strength in solidarity.
Now, let’s fast-forward 4 years. Now clerical, technical and health care workers are sitting down at the negotiating table together – strong and united. The lessons of the 2003 strike have propelled us to this point.
In 2007 we went into negotiations knowing that the Legislature had awarded 3.25% to the U for our salary increases in addition to a salary supplement that MN AFSCME had fought for and won. Our members watched the U give Civil Service 3.25% and the Teamsters 3%. Our members were outraged when the University would not go above 2.25% for us.
As negotiations deteriorated it became evident that U of M AFSCME was ready, willing and able to stand and fight. So, on September 5, the second day of classes in 2007, clerical, technical and health care workers walked out for the first united U of M AFSCME strike the U had ever seen.
But this strike was different from the strike of 2003. Usually when unions strike they are on the defensive because they are fighting takebacks. This time we were fighting to make gains – WE were on the offensive.
This strike was also different because we were in a coalition with technical and health care workers. This solidarity was a great strength. Keeping four different unions together through the whole process was not always easy. But we knew from our experience of striking alone in 2003 that it was very important to stand up together with as many other workers as possible. So we stood together strong and united this time.
Again, as in 2003 we received huge support from the community, students, faculty, Civil Service, the U community at large, labor unions, and this time many, many legislators who wanted to know what the U administration had done with the money they had allocated to US. We also received messages of support and donations to our Mutual Support Fund from Unions and people all across the country. That support gave us an incredible amount of strength.
As our strike progressed we invited anyone who thought our cause was just to join in and help and many, many people did. Support came in many, many different forms, such as press conferences by legislators and faculty, classes taken off campus, support on the picket lines, food donations, donations of money for our Mutual Support Fund and for the first time, a student hunger strike.
When you go on strike you experience wins and you experience losses. It is easy to quantify the losses—all you have to do is add up the salary you lost. But, it is a little harder to see the wins because they aren’t quite as evident, but they are there and they definitely outweigh the losses.
We walked out because it was the right thing to do. We were strong, we were united and that solidarity will carry us forward and keep us strong for future battles—and there will be many future battles.
Our strike has put the University on notice that we are willing and able to stand and fight this anti-worker employer together and that will act as a springboard for the campaigns that lie ahead.
Our strike has shown us that not only is standing up the right thing to do but it has also shown us how to do it and the importance of unity among AFSCME locals.
Our strike has also helped to organize and strengthen student groups on campus who not only want but also need to see changes at our public land grant institution.
But what is a public land grant institution – what does that mean? It very simply means that the public, the people of Minnesota, gave the land and money to build the University of Minnesota. They gave that land and money so they and their families would have access to a quality, affordable, higher education.
But the University administration is attempting to abandon that goal. Instead they say, the new focus is research. When the public hears the word ‘research’ thoughts come to mind of discoveries of drugs that benefit the human condition and inventions that make our lives better, longer and more fruitful. But the U administration has adopted this research agenda for a much different reason.
The citizens of Minnesota are the ones who through their taxes fund this research. The state provides the institution with funding to keep labs up to date and staffed with scientists and the like. Rich, greedy, corporations can then take the fruits of this publicly funded research and realize huge profits at the public’s expense. Publicly funded research is simply welfare for corporations.
The U administration’s corporate, anti-worker agenda is not serving the people of the State of Minnesota. The fight to take the U away from corporate America and return it to the people of Minnesota is just beginning and the unions will play a huge role.
There is much work to be done – from livable wage salaries for the front line staff to affordable tuition for students. From free speech for faculty to assistance for students whose families simply were not able to give them the tools they need to succeed at the U.
It will take many people from many different disciplines working together in coalitions to make this a reality. It is often difficult and sometimes trying to work with other groups. It takes extra effort and skill to define a path that encompasses the needs of all the contributors and takes us to an outcome that serves the needs of all.
And, with the experience and wisdom we have gained from the great strike of 2003 and the great strike of 2007 we WILL find a way to give the University of Minnesota back to the people it belongs to – the people of Minnesota.
So Remember: U of M AFSCME is back at work but the fight has just begun.