U of MN Workers Strike continues to week three.
Last week students interrupted a Regent's Meeting, and this week a small group of students and one professor have started a hunger strike. The Star Tribune reports: September 17, 2007
'Eleven university students began a hunger strike in support of striking clerical, health care and technical workers. The students -- who are also being joined by one professor and a university civil service employee -- will drink water and juice, but they vow not to eat again until the university settles the contract dispute with the AFSCME-represented workers.
The university calls "unfortunate" a decision by
students to go on a hunger strike in solidarity with clerical, health
care and technical workers. A professor and a U employee joined the
students.
As the strike closes in on the two-week mark, both sides remain steadfast in their requirements to end the dispute.
The union says the university's contract offer of a 2.25 percent annual raise for clerical and technical workers and a 2.5 percent raise for health care workers isn't sufficient. The U's position is that when combined with step raises for experience, most AFSCME represented employees will receive raises of at least 8.5 percent for the contract's two years.
On Friday, the union turned down an offer in which workers would have received a $300 lump sum during each year of the contract while keeping the base increases the same.
"Our members have told us many times that lump sums don't have any lasting impact on their wages," Walker said.
AFSCME has said that if the university bumped the salary increases to 3.25 and 3.5 percent, the strike would likely end.
Wolter declined to comment when asked why the university would not apply the money for the lump sum toward increases in base pay.
The two sides continue to dispute how large of an impact the strike is having. The union said that picket lines at loading docks across campus have interrupted deliveries and that the university "isn't operating as business as usual."
The university said that the number of strikers returning to work is increasing. About 1,000 of 3,100 workers represented by the AFSCME contracts walked off the job on Sept. 5. The university said Monday that number has dropped to between 900 and 950."
StarTribune.com Jeff Shelman •
Other local websites that have been reporting the strike include:
http://skybluewaters.org/blog1/
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/09/07/regentsprotest/
http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php
and Star Tribune.com
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