From: Adam Szlachetka (adam.szlachetka@workersrights.org)
Date: Fri Nov 30 2001 - 09:49:49 EST
> PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY
>
> Dear Members of the Stanford Community,
>
> It is currently 2:15PM. Concerned members of the Stanford
> community have
> rallied, marched, been physically assaulted, and gotten
> arrested today to
> combat an unfair and unjust practice: the proposed subcontracting of
> hospital workers.
>
> As many of you know, the Stanford Hospital's VP of General
> Services, Lou
> Sakson, has pledged to sign an agreement "as soon as he can" to
> subcontract out housekeeping jobs at the hospital, declaring
> that he will
> continue to do so without regard for worker's rights or dignity.
>
> Today, 8 students, co-chairs of the Asian American Student
> Association, Pilipino American Student Union, Movimiento
> Estudiantil Chicano De Aztlan, Peace and Justice Coalition at
> Stanford, the Student Labor Action Committe, and
> their members, confronted Lou Sakson in his office, demanding that
> the Stanford Hospital, whose practices we all have an undeniable stake
> in, does not begin to engage in a labor practice that
> exploits workers and
> denies them the right to organize.
>
> Sakson has shown no regard for the fact that poverty wages
> will be paid
> and benefits denied, meaning workers will have to take on 2-3
> jobs to have
> enough to eat. He believes that $8/hr. is a living wage in
> Palo Alto. He
> does not care that subcontracted workers will not be trained
> adequately
> to protect workers and patients, that using a subcontractor means high
> turnover and low worker loyalty/investment, or that in the past,
> subcontracting at the hospital has actually INCREASED, rather than
> decreased costs.
>
> He has shown no interest in listening to concerned voices. He
> refuses to
> consider halting subcontracting or stopping the practice
> until a review
> board can be established that determines whether the practice can be
> justified. He has also failed to explain the logic in signing
> a contract
> that will represent less than 1% of budget cuts, but will
> affect all the
> workers 100%. This situation is unacceptable, especially in
> an institution
> of higher learning, especially for a socially conscious and racially
> conscious community.
>
> In an overwhelming show of unity and support for the 1/3
> Asian American,
> 1/3 Chicano/Latino, and 1/3 African American hospital
> housekeeping workers
> and SEIU Local 715 union, 8 Students confronted Sakson in his office.
> After trying to give us the runaround, Sakson and hospital security
> resorted to physical assault when we tried to stop him from
> shutting his
> door on us. SLAC Co-Coordinator Monica Henestroza, who put
> her arm in the
> door to stop it from being closed, was personally assaulted
> by Sakson, who
> continued pushing against her caught arm even as she screamed in pain.
> Mecha co-Chair Leticia Ramirez was also abused by hospital
> security, who
> attempted to violently pull her away from the door entrance
> by grabbing
> her aggressively and pulling. Other students were also abused.
>
> Meanwhile, more than one hundred students representing all
> segments of the
> Stanford community assembled in front of Memorial Auditorium
> in protest of
> the subcontracting practice at 12:30 PM. After about 25 minutes, they
> marched to the hospital.
>
> This may be hard to believe but it is all on videotape. From the first
> delegation team, five of the eight students were arrested by Police,
> while one delegate videotaped the entire scene and the two other
> delegates of the second team reported back to the more than
> 100 students
> who had assembled outside after hearing of the rally in the
> last two days.
> Arrested students include our AASA chair, MEChA co-chair, a
> SCPJ officer,
> and SLAC officers.
>
> Currently, 100 students are rallying outside President Hennessy's
> office in Building 10 of the main quad, demanding that
> Hennessy, who has
> been negligent in taking responsibility for the
> subcontracting issue and
> answering student, worker, faculty, staff, and general
> community member
> demands that this unjust process be stopped and reviewed.
>
> STUDENTS DO NOT NEED TO BE ARRESTED IN ORDER TO BRING ATTENTION TO AN
> EXPLOITATIVE, UNJUST, AND DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICE.
>
> As students, we promise that if our voices and the voices of
> the community
> are not heard, we will be forced to escalate. We are all
> responsible for
> the workers on our campus. Our ties to the workers of
> Stanford Hospital
> are undeniable. To not speak up for what is right would be a
> tremendous
> act of violence.
>
> Start mobilizing now. Call your parents, your friends, your
> acquaintences,
> the press. More details on mobilization will follow.
>
> in struggle,
>
> The Stanford Community
>
> -++**==--++**==--++**==--++**==--++**==--++**==--++**==
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>
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> www.campuslivingwage.org
>
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