There's a battle going on at the University of Miami that campus president Donna Shalala would like us all to forget about.
For nearly two months, campus janitors have been on strike to protest the abuse of their civil rights by their employer, the cleaning contractor UNICCO.
These workers, most of them women and recent immigrants, are paid poverty-level wages and struggle just to pay their bills. They want to form a union so they can have a shot at making a better life for themselves and their families.
But UNICCO has responded to their campaign with bullying, illegal threats, and intimidation of union supporters. Today UNICCO was named by a watchdog group as one of the "Dirty Dozen" worst health and safety violators in the country. And yet President Shalala continues to protect this lawbreaking contractor instead of protecting the basic civil rights of janitors who clean her campus.
Last Friday, I went to Miami along with SEIU International Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina to join a hunger strike being waged by several of the janitors. It was a life-changing experience to fast for 36 hours and to be in the "Freedom Village" that these courageous workers have set up outside the university.
Click on the podcast below for just a glimpse at the struggle these workers are waging.
Most of all, don't play into UNICCO's hands by forgetting about this ongoing struggle. Visit www.YesWeCane.org for detailed and ongoing information about the strike.
And if at all possible, go to Miami and spend time with the growing group of students, religious leaders, and community allies who are backing these workers. The outpouring of support by religious leaders has been especially amazing. Frank Corbishley, a university chaplain, has been a steadfast supporter of the workers and tells the world, "This is what the Gospel demands of me."
Click here for the video.
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