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  Issue No 95 Official Organ of LaborNet 11 May 2001  

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News

Unions and Students Move on Harvard

By Andrew Casey

A three week student sit-in at the wealthiest university in the USA, Harvard, has ignited a national debate on America's low paid.

Senior politicians like Senator Ted Kennedy, top union leader's like the AFL-CIO's John Sweeney and popular culture figures like Mel King and Matt Damon lined up in front of the television cameras on the Harvard campus showing their support and praising the students.

More than 50 students occupied the administration buildings on April 18 demanding that the university pay more than 1000 university cleaning and catering workers at least $10.25 an hour - the basic living wage.

The students had not expected to be there for more than a few hours, maybe a couple of days, as they resolved to give voice to their campaign for Harvard university to boost the wages of its lowest-paid workers.

Several of the protest leaders had been involved during their university vacations with the AFL-CIO's Union Summer intern program which had inspired them to return to their campus and promote the union cause in their local community. The AFL-CIO's Union Summer program was introduced in 1995, soon after John Sweeney took over as head of the US national union centre.

( In Australia the ACTU's Organising Institute has copied this initiative, running a successful first Union Summer intern program for university students at the end of last year.)

But as Harvard management resisted the campaign demands the students dug in and started receiving national media attention.

Eventually Harvard management was not just negotiating with the students but they were contending with lawyers from the AFL-CIO, pro-union academics and daily repeated solidarity marches and calls for strikes from university workers who were members of the SEIU and HERE.

Meanwhile the US commentators and the media started highlighting what they said was a new convergence of the union and student movements.

You can read more about what the US media said about the Harvard sit-in if you click here.


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*   Issue 95 contents

In this issue
Features
*  Interview: Geek Guys
Two of the union movement�s pioneers in new technology, Peter Ross and Mark McGrath, chew the fat about wired unionism and virtual politics.
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*  Compo: Costa�s Angels
Behind the spotlight of the workers comp campaign four women trade union officials have been burning the midnight oil to protect injured workers.
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*  Legal: View from the Bench
Compensation Court judge and former Attorney-General, Frank Walker, argues the Della Bosca workers comp reforms are a threat to judicial independence.
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*  International: Timor: Time for the Truth
HT Lee was in Dili when the militas ran rampage. Now he wants the truth to come out.
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*  History: True Believers
Frank Bongiorno looks at the origins of the Australian Labor Party, which celebrated its centenary of Caucus this week.
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*  Corporate: Trust Me, I�m a Multi-National!
BHP unions have united across the factions to urge �No� vote on the planned Billiton merger.
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*  Unions: AWAs � A Doomed Future?
ACTU Assistant Secretary Richard Marles plays clairvoyant and predicts a dismal future for AWAs.
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*  Satire: Bush Defends One China Policy - Then Another China Policy, Then Another ....
President Bush today announced a major change to the United States� policy of �strategic ambiguity� towards the status of Taiwan and its One China policy.
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*  Review: Surviving Survivor
Workers Online's Reality TV correspondent Mark Morey rakes over the coals of the Survivor II result.
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News
»  Carr Government Avoids Own Safety Laws
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»  Phantom Employers Face the Flush
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»  Primus Suspect? Unions Seek Answers
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»  Big Australian�s Merger Faces Rocky Road
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»  Happy Hour for Heineken with a Half-Price Dollar
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»  Arnotts Workers Call for Consumer Boycott
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»  Asian Women at Work: Daring To Act
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»  Academic Sacking Sparks Global Row
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»  Labor Councillors Feel Childcare Heat
*
»  Rail Workers Win Maintenance Security
*
»  Knitwear Company Stitched Up Over AWAs
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»  Three Stripes and You�re Out
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»  Unions and Students Move on Harvard
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»  IT Workers Alliance � Last Call for Comment
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»  Our News Feed Hits 1000
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»  Activist Notebook
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Columns
»  The Soapbox
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»  The Locker Room
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»  Trades Hall
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»  Tool Shed
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Letters to the editor
»  The Great May Day Debate
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»  Questions for Macca
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»  Qantas on Impulse
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»  Compo: The Great Tradition
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