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News :: Labor |
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AFSCME 698 Holds Up the Show, Mainstream Media Buries the Story |
Current rating: 0 |
by Paul Kotheimer
Email: herringb (nospam) prairienet.org (unverified!) |
09 Jul 2006
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UI Admin still stalling in negotiations with AFSCME 698. Workers picket Lincoln Hall renovation ceremony. Ceremony delayed by half-an-hour. President White comes out, shakes hands with AFSCME reps with lots of media swarming around. Where did the footage go? Down the memory hole? |
In a surprise lunch-hour picket on Friday, nearly 100 workers from American Federal State County and Municipal Employees Local (AFSCME) 698 disrupted a ceremony announcing the funding of renovations at UIUC's Lincoln Hall.
The group came out to the Quad chanting "Thank US, it's OUR pension!"--calling attention to the fact that the $3 million sum allocated for renovations at Lincoln Hall is to be juggled out of the state employee pension fund. They also chanted "FAIR CONTRACT NOW": Local 698 has been working under an expired contract for 11 months. Negotiations are stalled. The University's "best and final" offer is considered totally unacceptable by the membership.
Picketers marched around the presentation area, calling periodically for President White to "come on out." The start of the ceremony seemed to have been delayed in response to the picket. For half-an-hour or so, various well-dressed functionaries stood around doing not much of anything. An august-looking mahogany podium, flanked by the US flag and State flag of Illinois, stood vacant.
In an unusual event, at around 12:40PM, President White did in fact "come on out." He shook hands with an AFSCME picket organizer and with a member of the negotiating team. For three minutes or so, White seemed to be discussing the union's concerns face-to-face with AFSCME 698's representatives. At least ten media people, wielding pads and pens, cameras and microphones, gathered around President White and the AFSCME representatives.
Presumably, mainstream media from local television and print media were in attendance, along with a reporter from the Chicago who included the following, buried in the last paragraph:
"Before the news conference announcing the funding, about 70 university staff members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union formed a picket line at the building to call attention to stalled contract negotiations. White stopped to visit with the demonstrators, and they left before the news conference began."
If anyone can find any reference to this AFSCME event in the Champaign County corporate media, please post a link here... Otherwise we'll have to assume that, like the mysterious black monolith on the moon in <2001, A Space Odyssey,> "It seems to have been deliberately buried."
SOLIDARITY |
This work is in the public domain. |
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Re: AFSCME 698 Holds Up the Show, Mainstream Media Buries the Story |
by kd
kswan (nospam) uiuc.edu (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
10 Jul 2006
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Great article, I was just looking for the maintstream media coverage myself. The Daily Illini does seem to have an article today july 10 about White's talk with local reps...not sure DI is considered mainstream,
Member Local 698 |
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Re: AFSCME 698 Holds Up the Show, Mainstream Media Buries the Story |
by Margaret Lewis
mlewis1 (nospam) uiuc.edu (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
10 Jul 2006
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Thanks for the great coverage we have been getting throug the IMC.
Local 698 needs all the coverage we can get. However, I did notice quite a lot of local coverage to give local media its due. An article appeared on page 2 of the News Gazette on July 8th. I also saw coverage on both Channel 3 and Channel 15 on Friday night. I heard a reporter on WILL AM also report the picket of White on my way home on Friday.
Thanks to all who covered this. I hope the local media is growing in its awareness of how our contract negotiations will effect the local economy long term.
I believe our is a classic struggle. The university must fight those who want to develop a corporate model with all that means for a growing division between upper level staff and front line workers. In the age of ENRON and corporate scandals this is not the model University of Illinois should be emulating.
Margaret Lewis |
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Re: AFSCME 698 Holds Up the Show, Mainstream Media Buries the Story |
by roro
roro hotmail.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
10 Jul 2006
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get angry first, get facts second |
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Re: AFSCME 698 Holds Up the Show, Mainstream Media Buries the Story |
by mackaman
tmackaman (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
10 Jul 2006
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I wrote an article for the World Socialist Web Site on it.
Tom
At the footsteps of historic Lincoln Hall
University of Illinois workers protest Democratic Governor Blagojevich
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/jul2006/illi-j08.shtml |
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Surprise, Surprise! AFSCME 698 Coverage OK After All |
by Paul Kotheimer
herringb (nospam) prairienet.org (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
10 Jul 2006
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I stand corrected.
The event took place on Friday. On Sunday, when I wrote this piece, online and print coverage which I could find did look pretty bleak.
Today's Daily Illini, along with the sources mentioned by Margaret Lewis, makes for a decent showing in response to the event.
Extra special thanks to roro for the attitude. Solidarity, yo. |
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Re: AFSCME 698 Holds Up the Show, Mainstream Media Buries the Story |
by roro
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
11 Jul 2006
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wasn''t written with attitude. just a thought that we could all be better off doing a little fact-chedking before we cast aspersions |
