I must said that I fall quite far from your geographical settlement. That does not mean that your approach as a whole does not appeal to me. From the moment I subscribed to the list I only benefited from your insights and information. Keep up! With warm support, Alex > Date: Thu, 21 Mar 1996 20:36:14 -0800 > Reply-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (R. Anders Schneiderman) > Subject: [PEN-L:3425] Protest Anti-Labor Purge at UC Berkeley > Dear Penlrs, > > This is a general call for support that Nathan and I are sending out > because of the fact that our Center, the Center for Community > Economic Research, was driven from UCBerkeley's Institute of Industrial > Research for being too pro-labor, pro-affirmative action, and pro- > immigrants rights--and for working on these issues in the community. > In addition to contacting the folks listed below, you might also > drop a note to Michael Reich. > > Thanks, > Anders Schneiderman > Center for Community Economic Research > > P.S. The rally covered in the press release below was very successful. > It was just the first step in the fight to create a multi-racial, > pro-labor space at Berkeley. > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > PLEASE FORWARD > > ACTION: Please read the following release and respond to UC-Berkeley's > Chancellor Tien and IIR Director Clair Brown in support of the end of > censorship and a Pro-Labor Labor Center at UC-Berkeley. > > UCB Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien > (510) 642-7464 (510) 642-7465 > > IIR Director Clair Brown > 643-7090 643-8140 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > PRESS RELEASE > > MARCH 20TH, 1996 > FOR MORE INFO, CALL (510) 486-1275 > Anders Schneiderman > > "A LABOR CENTER AS PRO-LABOR AS THE BUSINESS SCHOOL IS PRO-BUSINESS"" > --LABOR LEADERS, STUDENTS PROTEST PURGE AT UC-BERKELEY LABOR INSTITUTE > > On Wednesday, March 20 at noon, the UC-Berkeley Institute for > Industrial Relations (IIR) was picketed by area unionists, > students and former staff driven out of the IIR for their pro- > labor and anti-racism activities. Participants in the picket > included Jim Dupont, head of Hotel & Restaurant Workers Union Local > 2850, and State Assembly candidate Mark Friedman. > > Demanding that students and community need a "Labor Center as > Pro-Labor as the Business School is Pro-Business," the picketers > protested the forced resignations of five IIR staff people in > the last eight months. > > According to affirmative action student leader Harmony > Goldberg, "The IIR purge shows that the real political correctness > at the University is the repression of people who support labor > unions or defend affirmative action, while millions of corporate > dollars pour into a new Business School that promotes corporate > downsizing." > > "Corporations can buy all the university research and > support they want," argues Jim Dupont, Secretary-Treasurer of HERE > 2850. "All we demand for the community and labor movement is one > small corner at the University dedicated to the working people of > this country." The protesters calling for the end of > censorship by the IIR, expanded diversity in the almost all-white > IIR, the creation of a multi-racial Labor Studies program at UC- > Berkeley, and the reversal of the increasing corporate dominance > of the University. > > Protestors charge that IIR Director Clair Brown is responsible > for the following: > > ** Mary Ruth Gross, long-time head of the IIR Center for Labor > Research and Education, was demoted then pushed out despite > protests by local and statewide labor leaders. > > ** The Center for Community Economic Research (CCER), an IIR > project founded by Nathan Newman and Anders Schneiderman, was > driven out of the IIR after ongoing harassment of its labor, > affirmative action, and immigrant rights work. The final > straw was when the IIR refused to process paychecks for grad > student employees working on a union research project. > > ** After Clair Brown censored the Labor Center Reporter, > staffer Rob Wrenn and the majority of the editorial board > resigned. > > ** John Sladkus, assistant director of the Labor Center, > resigned after censure for a pro-labor KQED editorial. > Previously, Clair Brown had forced Sladkus to destroy a box > of already printed brochures for a "Young Unionists" > conference because they mentioned the struggles for immigrant > rights and affirmative action and their use in union > organizing. > > "The irony of the situation," notes Anders Schneiderman, co- > director of the Center for Community Economic Research, who was > recently driven out of the IIR, "is that IIR Director, Professor > Clair Brown, styles herself a 'labor-management cooperation expert' > but has conducted an eight-month purge of employees, while > censoring and harassing anyone who disagrees with her. This purge > is obviously driven by the IIR's search for corporate money, > including a $3-4 million grant they are seeking from Toyota." > > Leading state assembly candidate Mark Friedman phrases the > importance of the fight at the IIR this way: "the University should serve > more than just corporate interests; it should be just as much a training > ground for future union and community organizers as it is for future > business leaders." > > -- END -- > > ---------------------- > > FACTS ABOUT THE STRUGGLE AT THE IIR > > For more info, call (510) 486-1275 > > Overview of Problems at UC Berkeley's Institute for Industrial Relations: > > PURGE OF FIVE PRO-LABOR, PRO-DIVERSITY STAFF MEMBERS: In the last eight > months, five staff members at the Institute for Industrial Relations--Mary > Ruth Gross, Rob Wrenn, Anders Schneiderman, Nathan Newman, and John > Sladkus-- have resigned or been forced out because of their pro-labor and > anti racism actions at the Labor Center and the Center for Community > Economic Research (both projects of the IIR). This is driven by the fact > that the IIR is working to attract corporate money from places like Toyota > Corp. > > CENSORSHIP AT THE IIR: As IIR director, Clair Brown has refused > publication of articles deemed too pro-labor, censored brochures seen as > too pro-immigrant or pro affirmative action, and prohibited public speaking > by staff members for being too pro-labor. > > LACK OF DIVERSITY AND HOSTILITY TO SUPPORT FOR ANTI-RACISM WORK: There are > no faculty of color active in the Institute of Industrial Relations and > director Clair Brown has done nothing to change that situation. In fact, > she actively censored leaflets, brochures, statements of purpose or > conference announcements that highlighted racism in the workplace, > affirmative action and immigrant rights struggles, and even the use of the > word "racism." > > REFUSAL TO SUPPORT THE CREATION OF A LABOR STUDIES PROGRAM: Director Clair > Brown has repeatedly dismissed supporting a labor studies program, even as > recently as meetings in January 1996. > > > TIMELINE: > > JAN-MAR 1995: Under the false pretenses of hiring an assistant for Labor > Center chair Mary Ruth Gross, IIR director Clair Brown hires Bob Redlo as > Gross's replacement and demotes her because of her long-time support for > and from the labor community. Mary Ruth Gross resigns under pressure from > Clair Brown. > > The Center for Community Economic Research (CCER), run by Nathan > Newman and Anders Schneiderman, is driven out of the IIR after ongoing > censorship and harassment of their community and labor work. The final > straw is Clair Brown's refusal to process paychecks for three grad student > employees working on a CCER labor project. The newly installed head of the > Labor Center takes over the project against the will of both CCER and the > union financing the project. Dick Walker, a long-time "progressive" faculty > member involved in the project, refuses to support the grad employees, > saying "So what if the IIR is refusing to pay on time? Graduate students > are used to getting paid late." > > LATE FALL 1995: Clair Brown refuses to publish an article in the Labor > Center Reporter criticizing anti-union legislation that would legalize > corporate-run "teams" as a replacement for unions. The majority of the > editorial board of the Labor Center Reporter resigns, including Nathan > Newman and Anders Schneiderman from CCER, grad students, two labor reps > from SEIU and the faculty advisor, Michael Burawoy from the Sociology > department. Rob Wrenn, the Labor Center staff person in charge of the > Labor Center Reporter resigns his staff position in late December. > > LATE SUMMER/EARLY FALL 1995: Clair Brown again cuts the Labor Center > budget, which at this point has only one full staff member on payroll (Mary > Ruth Gross) and a half-time assistant (Rob Wrenn), down from a historic > staff level of six full-time employees. The state labor movement > mobilizes in Sacramento to demand restoration of Labor Center funding. > Some funding is restored by the University--against Brown's wishes--but > Brown blocks Mary Ruth Gross from hiring new staff in the fall. In the > end, Brown was just waiting to hire a hatchet person in 1996 to replace > Mary Ruth Gross. > > LATE SPRING/EARLY SUMMER 1995: John Sladkus, staff member at the Labor > Center, resigns. This follows his censure by Clair Brown for doing a KQED > radio editorial on why some people don't cross picket lines during strikes. > It also follows her forcing John Sladkus to destroy a box of already > printed brochures for a "Young Unionists" conference because they mention > the struggles for immigrant rights and affirmative action and how they can > be used to help organize unions. > > 1994 AND EARLY 1995: Multiple incidents where Clair Brown as director > censors leaflets and brochures, including objecting to the use of the word > "racism" in a mission statement, declaring the word an "unscholarly" term. > > -- end -- > > >
