Univ. of Minnesota Students Go on Hunger Strike

From their press release:

At least 10 University of Minnesota students will begin an indefinite hunger strike on Monday in support of a fair settlement of the clerical, technical and healthcare workers' strike entering its third week. In solidarity with this student-led effort, a faculty member, a staff member, and a striking worker will join them in their action.

The AFSCME-affiliated union at the University of Minnesota has had to wait far too long to get a fair shake from the Administration. As the struggle for justice and power for students can only truly happen arm-in-arm with the liberation of faculty and support staff, we all should support strikes like this one in any way we can. Find out more at www.uworkers.org.

Full press release and more details under the fold (and here's a decent editorial with a lot more details of the union's situation):

PRESS RELEASE:

Students start hunger strike for Justice: Call on Bruininks to provide a fair settlement

PRESS CONFERENCE: Patio in front of Morrill Hall, north end of the East Bank Mall, University of Minnesota, NOON on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2007.

At least 10 University of Minnesota students will begin an indefinite hunger strike on Monday in support of a fair settlement of the clerical, technical and healthcare workers' strike entering its third week. In solidarity with this student-led effort, a faculty member, a staff member, and a striking worker will join them in their action. After exhausting all possibilities of communicating their message to President Bruininks and his administration, the group of students has organized the action as a HUNGER STRIKE FOR JUSTICE. Isaac Kamola, a hunger striker and a graduate student in political science, said, "we are frustrated by the inaccessibility of Bruininks' administration. They have closed off all avenues of discussion, they flood our email with propaganda, and they are too afraid to debate in a public forum, because their position is so unreasonable."

Undergraduate hunger striker, Sofia Shank, said, "Bruininks doesn't seem to care about principles of democracy, justice, or equity. We have chosen to embark on a hunger strike that will raise people's awareness of his lack of accountability to the public."

The Hunger Strike for Justice aims to highlight the growing problem of wage inequality on campus, in which the University is unwilling to pay the relative pittance it would take to keep its lowest paid workers abreast of inflation, an issue at the heart of the current labor conflict. A survey conducted by the AFSCME union in 2005 found that 25% of union members working at the U had difficulties affording to feed their families. "We want justice for our community, and that means nobody in our university should go hungry," explained Kyle Johnson, an undergraduate in fine arts. "Our hunger strike is meant to highlight a crisis that needs a resolution now: hundreds and hundreds of workers are going home to their families without a paycheck every day this strike drags on," he concluded.

Students have vowed to refrain from all solid foods, and will subsist on only juices, water and salt. Aerospace engineering graduate student, Amit Singh, states, "The hunger strike will be difficult, but we feel that our actions reflect the urgency of the situation. The AFSCME workers have been on strike for twelve days now. The university community has overwhelmingly come out in support of our essential workers. But the administration continues to ignore requests for a fair and livable contract." For many letters from groups of students and faculty supporting the union's position, see http://www.uworkers.org.

Weather permitting, the students plan to maintain a public presence on the Northrop Mall. Students and their supporters will continue to go about their daily routine as much as possible, coming together to support each other and contributing to a debate on campus during their off time. The group encourages all members of the University and surrounding community to join them at the hunger strike site. Like University instructors, the hunger strikers will hold daily "office hours," between 9:30am - 6 pm. During this time, they hope to engage fellow students in education about the issues of the AFSCME strike and answer any questions about the action.

In the evenings, the Hunger Strike for Justice will relocate to University Baptist Church, 1219 University Ave. SE, which also serves as the union's strike headquarters.

Students are committing to continue their hunger strike in solidarity with the AFSCME campus locals until the Administration meets the union's demands for a fair contract.

For further information, please contact the hunger strikers' media person:
Eli Meyerhoff, meye0781[ at ]umn.edu, 763-607-7034