NEWS & EVENTS (BenOrtiz.com)

Saturday, October 23, 2004
DAY 5 of the CITY COLLEGES STRIKE
Negotiations Start Again Tomorrow!

Some of the best news yet from CCCTU President Perry Buckley tells that federally mediated negotiations start again tomorrow at 1pm, and Buckley says “When we go into negotiations, we are not coming out without a tentative agreement, even if I have to use civil disobedience and stage a sit-in at the lawyer’s office” (Local 1600 Update 10/23/04).

I heard Buckley interviewed by the local media (WGN, FOX, CLTV, and maybe four more broadcasters and print journalists) today at a combo press conference and student rally at Malcolm X College. He emphasized the Union’s commitment to a resolution by stating that he’ll take a change of clothes, sleeping bag, and supplies for an extended stay to bring a fair conclusion to this strike.

But today started off with a 7:30am Truman picket greeting for various students taking the ACT or attending class. I’ve heard from Local 1600 news that “Truman’s pickets are larger, more vocal, and more energized” than at other campuses, and this morning was exemplary, with a feeling of second-wind-catching and relief at the prospect of re-opened negotiations, even though a light drizzle kept us chilly and damp.

I leaped a ride with some nice women from the cosmetology department at 9 or so for Malcolm X, and it was good to see other faculty, as well as what seemed to me a more energized, organized, and fearless student body at MXC. It’s sad to hear, also, that a Valedictorian of MXC has been blacklisted and threatened with arrest by admin, as his interview will attest on local TV today at 5pm.

I still see Truman students cross pickets with bewilderment and fear, but there need be no dread of reprisal. If there’s any doubt about who’s doing any kind of harassment in this matter, consider the following excerpt from a Local 1600 news update (10/23/04) for Truman College:

“Students in adjunct classes are being called (by both administration and the teachers) [and told] that they will fail if they continue to support our strike. They are threatening to fire adjuncts who support our strike. And as if that weren’t enough, the administration is going to cut off our health insurance as of Oct. 31. … During the day [on Friday], [Truman President] Dr. Boyd and others in administration tried to pass out the Board’s proposals. … Their desperation is palpable. From Dr. Boyd trying pathetically to woo faculty on the line to Wayne Watson getting in [English faculty] Bill Settles’ face at Kennedy-King, jabbing his finger in his chest and saying, “This has gone on too long!” The student support and the labor solidarity that they see amongst 1600, other unions, adjuncts, and workers has them scared, and rightly so.”

The picket starts up again at Truman tomorrow at 8:45am. Today I’m drying off, trying not to catch cold, and picking up again with Philip Roth’s latest novel in the bathtub. The title is great:

THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA

--B