Ohio U students, union fight for each other [View All]

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/09/29/ouprotest.ART_ART_09-29-07_B4_TO81VUM.html?sid=101

By Jim Phillips
FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
ATHENS, Ohio -- It was a college administrator's nightmare: students and union employees, joining hands and supporting each other's issues.

In recent weeks, Ohio University student groups have walked informational picket lines with OU union workers, protesting the layoff of 24 maintenance and housekeeping employees.

Yesterday, Local 1699 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) returned the favor, adding a few picketers to the 100 or more students who demonstrated on OU's College Green. The event was organized by Students for a Democratic Society.

"When the union ran into trouble … the first two groups to come to our aid were SDS and the College Democrats," Dave Logan, president of the AFSCME Local, told the crowd. "You showed you believe in the union, and I want you to know, the union believes in the students."

The protesters had three demands: an end to OU's policy of limiting demonstrations to designated "free-speech zones"; the rewriting of the university's "Vision Ohio" strategic plan to include more democratic decision-making; and the rehiring of the laid-off workers from OU's Facilities Management department.

As some speakers noted, the protest itself violated school policy. Campus Police Chief Michael Martinsen, however, said he had decided to take no action as long as the event remained peaceful.

FULL story at link.