From: benjamin_mckean (ben@usasnet.org)
Date: Wed Sep 11 2002 - 21:40:12 EDT
hey folks,
Please check out the following update from the students and workers
in Boston. 10,000 janitors there are working jobs for low wages and
no health insurance -- and now, are working without a contract, so
they are about to strike. Students from Boston are beginning to put
themselves on the line, and there's a lot that students across the
country can do to help; these contractors like UNICCO and these
building owners like Boston Properties are across the country, and
they're going to need to feel the heat everywhere before janitors can
win a solid victory in Boston.
If you're interested in organizing an action or a leafleting for
Justice for Janitors in your area, please let me know.
thanks very much,
ben
Subj: [bostonslap] 5PM, 9/12: STUDENTS RISK ARREST IN SUPPORT OF
JANITORS!
Date: 9/11/2002 6:07:38 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: ljirmanus@yahoo.com
Boston area students met last Monday, September 9th and decided to
organize the following events in support of the janitors! For action
announcement and more information about the campaign and the Justice
for Janitors Strike Update #6, please, read on…Also visit
www.bostonslap.org and www.massjwj.net.
**************************PLEASE FORWARD
WIDELY**************************
STUDENTS RISK ARREST IN SUPPORT OF JANITORS
DEMAND COMPANY ISSUE STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF J4J
5PM on Thursday, September 12
Prudential Mall, Boylston Street Entrance
Join Students from Boston SLAP as they risk arrest tomorrow at the
Prudential
Mall to demand that Boston Properties support the Boston janitors in
their
demands for health care, full-time jobs and decent wages. Boston
Properties,
which owns the Prudential and the Long Wharf Marriot, is the only
remaining
major Boston building owner who hasn't made a statement in support of
the
janitors. Boston Properties, you make us sick!
(nearest T stop: Hynes)
**********************************************************************
********
4PM Boston SLAP City-Wide Student Meeting
MIT Building 8, Room 302.
http://whereis.mit.edu/bin/map?locate=bldg_8
Join students from universities throughout the city to organize
student support
for the janitors as they are on strike. Of the 10,000 over 2,000 work
on our
campuses (Northeastern, MIT, Emerson, Lesley, Simmons, Emmanuel,
UMass Boston,
BHCC and others...) and another 2,000 on off-campus university
property
including that of Northeastern, Harvard, BC and MIT. If you get lost
call Lara
at 781-724-6354. (Nearest T stop: Kendall)
**********************************************************************
**********
Northeastern University: Do the Right Thing!
Boston SLAP Rally at Northeastern
4:45 PM on Monday, September 23
Students from schools across Boston will gather at Northeastern to
pressure the
Northeastern administration, which has the most janitors covered
under this
contract of all the Boston-are schools, to support the janitors.
Stay tuned for details!
**********************************************************************
**********
Wednesday, September 11, 2002
Check out our web-site for more information about these events,
recent news
coverage, and to sign the online pledge: www.massjwj.net
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----
*****PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!*****
Justice for Janitors : Strike Bulletin #6
Welcome to the Justice for Janitors Strike Bulletin. If you're
receiving this
message as a forward and would like to join our list, visit
www.massjwj.net and
sign the online Solidarity Pledge. Even if you're on our email
list,
please,
visit our website and sign our online pledge which has already been
signed by
200 people.
After having spent a week in extended contract negotiations, the
janitors
union, SEIU Local 615, BROKE OFF NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE BUILDING
CONTRACTORS for
a second time. The union walked out of negotiations, rejecting the
contractors' final proposal of an measly increase to $12.50 over a
period of
four years, no health benefits and no increases in full-time work
opportunities, which two items comprise the centerpiece of the union
demands.
As a strike looms, the cleaning contractors remain instransigent. Jim
Canavan,
negotiator for UNICCO and primary negotiator for the cleaning
companies, spoke
about the janitors' demands for health care and full-time work as if
they were
ludicrous. However, yesterday, the second to last major building
owner in
Boston, Fleet Bank, issued a statement in support of the workers.
Boston
Properties, owner of the Prudential and the Long Wharf Marriot,
stands alone as
the only major Boston building owner which hasn't issued a statement
in support
of the workers. The corporation will the final target in actions this
week:
including a STUDENT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE ACTION at the Prudential Mall,
Thursday,
September 12th at 5pm, a janitors delegation to the Prudential at 3pm
Thursday,
and leafletting the Long Wharf Marriot this Sunday at 10am. Other
building
owners who've issued statements in support of the janitors include
Fleet,
Equity and State Street Bank.
As the community and students mobilize for three major actions
tomorrow, the
union prepares for a strike. They vow to continue to push for decent
wages
(most janitors currently earn about $39/night), affordable family
healthcare
(most janitors have no health care) and full-time job opportunities
(75% of
jobs are currently part time). Join us tomorrow for a series of three
actions
that should send the janitors well on their way to winning this
struggle,
certain to be the largest labor struggle Boston has seen in years.
At NOON,
we'll be on the streets by 185 Franklin St, Post Office Square, with
IBEW 2222
as they announce their support for the janitors. At 3PM, join SEIU
615 janitors
at the SEIU office on 11 Beacon St. in Boston to go on a delegation
to Boston
Properties. And at 5PM join the students from Boston SLAP at the
Prudential
Mall to tell Boston Properties it's time to issue a statement in
support of the
janitors!
SEIU Local 615 now prepares for a strike, which could begin as early
as
tomorrow. But tonight, the union will step outside during their
shifts to light
a candle in remembrance of brothers and sisters lost on September 11,
2001.
Join them in five central locations in Boston and Cambridge.
**********************************************************************
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?!
Solidarity Rally for Justice for Janitors
12 Noon, Thursday, September 12
185 Franklin St., Post Office Sq., Downtown Boston
Join IBEW 2222 and Jobs with Justice to show your solidarity with the
janitors
in the first major action since the union returned to the bargaining
table last
Tuesday. At the rally, IBEW 2222 Business Manager Myles Calvey and
IBEW 2222
members will publicly pledge their support for the janitors in SEIU
Local 615.
Let's get hundreds of us out there, to send a message, loud and
clear, to the
building owners and contractors, still refusing to provide benefits
and fair
increases for all the janitors, that the community will not stand for
their
intransigence for much longer. March with Jobs with Justice directly
after
this short rally for another brief action at a TBA location.
CAN YOU HEAR US NOW?!! (Nearest T stop: Blue&Orange Line - State)
*******************************************************************
DELEGATION TO BOSTON PROPERTIES
3PM THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
Join SEIU Janitors as they go on a delegation to tell Boston
Properties,
enough's enough. Boston Properties, which owns the Prudential and the
Long
Wharf Marriot, is the only remaining major Boston building owner who
hasn't
made a statement in support of the janitors.
Meet at SEIU 615 Office: 11 Beacon Street, 2nd Floor
(Nearest T: Park St)
**********************************************************
BILINGUAL ORGANIZERS NEEDED!!
*In the event of a strike, SEIU is in need of experienced, bilingual
organizers
to notify workers in their 1400 buildings. Please, contact Jobs with
Justice to
Volunteer.
THE UNION ALSO URGENTLY NEEDS HELP MAKING PICKET SIGNS to be used
when they go
on strike. If you have an hour, please go to the union office at 11
Beacon St,
Suite 200 and ask for Suzy. Call or email Suzy Stone for more info at
stone8@brandeis.edu or 781-883-7117.
******************************************************************
Coming up…
In the next couple days, we'll be escalating the community support,
as the
workers prepare for a strike. With students getting arrested
Thursday,
community members will gather for a CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE PRACTICE on
Saturday at
Noon. In addition, SEIU will continue to put pressure on Boston
Properties to
take a stand in support of the janitors with leafletting on Sunday at
10AM at
the Long Wharf Marriot.
As the campaign continues to heat up in the next few days, we're
gathering
people for civil disobedience; keep those pledges rolling in. Stay
plugged in
by reading our pledges, on email and online at www.massjwj.net, for
the the
most recent media coverage and frequent updates, and to sign the
Solidarity
Pledge! See the calendar below for a listing of upcoming events. For
details
on the student effort, visit the Boston Student Labor Action Project
website:
www.bostonslap.org.
Get involved!
To become involved in organizing fundraising for the strike
fund, "meet your
janitors" days for tenants in Downtown Boston, using arts to support
the strike
and workers contact 254brunsting@mindspring.com or call Liz
Steinhauser at
617-523-6150x437. COME TO A SLAP MEETING!!! SUNDAY, at 4pm at MIT!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------
Justice for Janitors: Calendar
Wednesday, September 11
8PM Community Supporters Meet at SEIU 615 Office to attend vigils, 11
Beacon
St.
9-9:30 PM SEIU 615 Vigils
The Service Employees International Union was the union second worst
hit by the
attacks of September 11, 2001. Join SEIU 615 members in four central
locations
in Downtown Boston, and one in Cambridge, as they take a half an hour
break
during their work shifts to light a candle and remember the members
lost on
that day. Either meet at the union office to help bring supplies and
walk over
together or show up at the most convenient location for you:
* Washington Mall, near 28 State Street- nearest T stop: Red
and Orange
Lines, Downtown Crossing
* Post Office Square- nearest T stop: Blue and Orange Lines,
State Street
* Copley, nearest T stop- Green Line, Copley
* World Trade Center- nearest T stop: Take a Shuttle Bus from
South
Station
* Kendall Square, Cambridge - nearest T stop: Red Line, Kendall
****
Thursday, September 12
12PM - CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW - Solidarity Rally for Justice for Janitors
185 Franklin St., Post Office Sq., Downtown Boston
Join IBEW 2222 and Jobs with Justice to show your solidarity with the
janitors
in the first major action since the union returned to the bargaining
table last
Tuesday. At the rally, IBEW 2222 Business Manager Myles Calvey and
IBEW 2222
members will publicly pledge their support for the janitors in SEIU
Local 615.
Let's get hundreds of us out there, to send a message, loud and
clear, to the
building owners and contractors, still refusing to provide benefits
and fair
increases for all the janitors, that the community will not stand for
their
intransigence for much longer. CAN YOU HEAR US NOW?!! (Nearest T stop:
Blue&Orange Line - State)
3PM Janitors Delegation to Boston Properties
SEIU janitors will march over to Boston Properties buildings to
leaflet and
demand that they be upstanding corporate citizens and take a stand in
support
of the Justice for Janitors campaign, as Equity, State Street Bank,
FleetBoston
and others did last week.
If you can come, RSVP to Vonda Brunsting, SEIU 615 Community
Organizer, at
254brunsting@mindspring.com or by calling 617-523-6150x437 (Nearest T
stop:
Park Street)
5PM Students Risk Arrest, Demanding Boston Properties Support Janitors
Prudential Mall, Boylston Entrance
Join Students from Boston SLAP as they risk arrest tomorrow at the
Prudential
Mall to demand that Boston Properties support the Boston janitors in
their
demands for health care, full-time jobs and decent wages. Boston
Properties,
which owns the Prudential and the Long Wharf Marriot, is the only
remaining
major Boston building owner who hasn't made a statement in support of
the
janitors. Boston Properties, you make us sick!
(Nearest T stop: Hynes)
***
Saturday, September 14
12Noon Civil Disobedience Practice
Location TBA, Contact JWJ for details
As the campaign heats up in the next few days, and the janitors
prepare for a
strike, joing Jobs with Justice and Community Members in a Civil
Disobedience
practice...Already, nearly fifty community members have pledged that
they are
willing to participate in civil disobedience in support of the
janitors!! RSVP
Jobs with Justice at 617-524-8778 or bostonjwj@mindspring.com to find
out the
location.
***
Sunday, September 15
10AM Boston Properties: Do the Right Thing!
Long Wharf Marriot Hotel
Join members of SEIU Local 615 as they leaflet the Long Wharf
Marriot, which is
owned by Boston Properties, one of the top three building owners in
Boston, and
the major remaining one that hasn't come forward in support of the
janitors.
Once we force Boston Properties to cave, we've almost won!
(Nearest T stop: Blue Line, Aquarium)
4PM Boston SLAP City-Wide Student Meeting
MIT Building 8, Room 302.
http://whereis.mit.edu/bin/map?locate=bldg_8
Join students from universities throughout the city to organize
student support
for the janitors as they're on strike. Of the 10,000 over 2,000 work
on our
campuses (Northeastern, MIT, Emerson, Lesley, Simmons, Emmanuel,
UMass Boston,
BHCC and others...) and another 2,000 on off-campus university
property
including that of Northeastern, Harvard, BC and MIT. If you get lost
call Lara
at 781-724-6354.(Nearest T stop: Kendall)
***
Wednesday, September 17
Interfaith Vigil for Justice for Janitors
8PM, Location TBA
The Massachusetts Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice and the
Jewish Labor
Committee will host an interfaith vigil next week. It will be a
space for the
community to come together and reflect upon the importance of this
struggle.
For more information, contact Katie Proulx at the Massachusetts
Interfaith
Committee for Worker Justice at 617-569-7878.
***
Thursday, September 19
6-9:30PM ART FOR JUSTICE: Open-Mike/PSA for J4J contest/Art-Making
138 Tremont Street, Sproat Hall in St. Paul's Church
Join Project Think Different, Boston Student Labor Action Project,
and SEIU 615
as they get the word out about the janitors' struggle through art and
music.
During a festive evening with open mic for hip hop and spoken word
performers
and a public service announcement contest for Justice for Janitors to
be judged
by celebrity judges, we'll create artful signs, banners, paper mache
puppets
for use in the strike. The winner of the PSA contest will receive
$300!
PSA Entries:
Perform a one minute jingle, spoken or musical, that includes themes
surrounding the J4J campaign—i.e., economic justice, workers
rights,
poverty,
living wage, the "American Dream," corporate greed, fairness,
"Si se
Puede,"
etc. Call 617-320-6433 to pre-register or just show up by 6pm. Winner
will
receive $300 and appear on Video Flava.
Visit www.massjwj.net for more information and frequent updates.
When the strike starts, frequent updates will be available on the
site and via
email. Sign-up online!
**********************************************************************
*******
Boston SLAP JUSTICE FOR JANITORS
Youth and Student SOLIDARITY PLEDGE
You can fill this out online at http://www.bostonslap.org
More than 10,000 janitors in the Boston-area and throughout
Massachusetts
provide a valuable service. They sweep floors, empty garbage and
scrub toilets
to keep our office buildings and universities clean and the workdays
running
smoothly. The janitors work hard, pay taxes and make contributions to
our
communities. Yet, on part-time jobs with no benefits, they are
struggling to
afford decent housing and pay the doctor's bills.
We stand in solidarity with janitors who are uniting to win for good
jobs with
decent wages and affordable health insurance. We support the janitors
and their
efforts to improve the quality of life in our communities.
____ I will sign a petition in support of the janitors to my
administration
telling them to support justice for janitors
by paying our janitors decent wages, affordable health
care and
full-time job opportunities.
____ I will walk picket lines and attend actions and demonstrations.
____ I will organize students on my campus to walk picket lines and
attend
actions.
____ I will commit myself to an act of civil disobedience in support
of the
janitors are forced to strike.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
Name: _______________________________________________________________
School/Univeristy: ________________________________________________
Mailing Address:
______________________________________________________
City, State, ZIP: _________________________________________
Phone: ____________________________________
E-mail: ________________________________
Please return to
Boston Student Labor Action Project
c/o Boston Jobs with Justice
3353 Washington St
Boston, MA 02130
Phone: (617) 524-8778
Fax: (617) 524-8996
Email: bostonslap@hotmail.com
You can fill this out online at http://www.bostonslap.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
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