UConn sit-in successful

UConn sit-in successful
May/June 2001

At the University of Connecticut, a 55-hour sit-in in the president's office resulted in a $2 an hour raise for contract employees. Here is material from their website:

"What we won:

Prevailing wage for all subcontracted UConn employees as of July 1, 2001! This means that janitors working for the subcontractor Capitol Cleaning Contractors, Inc. will start at $8.47 per hour plus benefits, instead of the old starting wage of $6.50 per hour without benefits.
A mechanism to deal with further privatization: The University has agreed to publicly announce any plans to further privatize University services and employment at least six months prior to the proposed implementation of the privatization. This provides an opportunity for community response to any plans for privatization, and if necessary, it allows time to hold forums and build a campaign against such privatization. This is one step closer to our goals of transparency and democracy.

"... What next? Well, for one thing, prevailing wage is not the same as living wage. We should not stop with what we've got. And although the six-month notice is a step toward greater community participation in running the University, it is a small one, and we should not stop the movement for democratization here."

For more information on the UConn campaign, got to www.freeuconn.org