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Students lead U of M solidarity march
12 September 2007
| MINNEAPOLIS - What do airline pilots, Twisted Sister and Barack Obama have in common? They all had a presence – of sorts – at a solidarity rally Wednesday for University of Minnesota strikers. |
The event, organized by students, started with a solidarity march across the Washington Ave. bridge linking the East and West Banks of the Minneapolis campus. Participants chanted "Students and workers will never be divided," then gathered for a rally outside Coffman Union.
The solidarity march marked the start of the second week of the strike by university clerical, technical and health care workers represented by AFSCME. No talks are scheduled.
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| Students led a march by university strikers and supporters across the Washington Ave. bridge Wednesday. |
"We will not be ignored. We will not be disrespected," said Cherrene Horazuk, vice president of AFSCME Local 3800, representing clerical workers. "They (university administration) have to come to the table with wages for the lowest paid workers."
Two representatives of the Air Line Pilots Association, Captains Matthew Marsh and Ken Watts, carried signs reading "I Support U of M Workers."
Speaking to the rally, Marsh said, "On behalf of labor in this country, I say thank you for standing up to this administration . . . thank you for standing up for your families."
The struggle facing Northwest Airline workers – who have taken huge pay cuts while executives cashed in their stock options – is directly connected to that facing university workers, said Watts, an NWA pilot.
"The laws favor management," he said. "Everybody thinks it's feeding time on labor and it's not. They can't treat people like this."
Students and strikers added a note of levity to the proceedings by crafting new lyrics to songs by the Beastie Boys and Twisted Sister. "We're not gonna take it!" the crowd shouted, joining in on a modified Twisted Sister tune.
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| Students cheered and chanted at the rally. |
Participants cheered when it was announced that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has moved a campaign event scheduled for Saturday off campus. Obama also wrote a letter to University President Robert Bruininks saying, "The workers' requests are simple and reasonable. Their real pay has dropped over the last few years as the cost of living has increased. Workers who dedicate themselves to the University of Minnesota and provide essential support to its core educational mission deserve a wage that allows them to raise a family and plan for retirement.
"I strongly encourage you to take the steps necessary to end this strike and make the University of Minnesota a place that respects all of its workers."
Due to the strike, the Minnesota Orchestra postponed a concert that had been scheduled for noon Wednesday on the Minneapolis campus. Orchestra members are represented by the American Federation of Musicians.
In addition, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, who represents Wisconsin's 2nd district, moved a program from campus to the University Baptist Church in Dinkytown, site of the strike headquarters. She is scheduled to give the Allan Spear Lecture in Public Policy at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Students plan another solidarity rally Thursday starting at noon in front of Coffman Union, to be followed by a "Pedal-Powered Picketline" of bicyclists carrying strike signs.
Read Barack Obama's letter to Robert Bruininks
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