A matter of free speech

From Stephen Pearcy:
“When public support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq was at its peak, my wife and I voiced dissent in a very public way. For that, we were demonized by the media and attacked by conservative hate mongers while law enforcement looked the other way.

The video linked below shows the media praising people who vandalized and stole our property. It also shows how the Sacramento District Attorney sent a strong public a message that vandalisms to our property would not be prosecuted.

The facts are presented the way they should have been reported–that is, without the right wing spin.”

You can view the video here.

Stephen S. Pearcy
Attorney and Peace Activist
Berkeley, CA

Clark Hall: Signs of Improvement

Everybody wins when safety is improved
This is truly a win-win situation. After both the faculty and the staff unions joined the safety grievance at Clark Hall things started to improve. New signs are going up and obstructions are being removed. All parties are now working together to improve the exit routes from this building. Hopefully, we will never have to make an emergency evacuation of this building. But, if we do, we will now be better prepared and lives may be spared. That is a win for everybody!

An Act of Kindness

A film by Akshay Prem Vyas
With all the bad stuff that has happened recently, especially our recent burglary and the struggle to get the safety issues in Clark Hall at San Jose State fixed, it was becoming easy to feel jaded and cynical. Then, a special film was brought back to my attention. Akshay is a wonderful young man from India who works at the San Jose State University Help Desk. Akshay and his friends made this movie for Campus Moviefest that reminds us that in general people have good hearts and that goes around comes around. Thank you Akshay and friends for making this movie. It made my wife and I very happy to watch it again, it was an act of kindness.

Clark Hall (Un)Safety Saga Continues

The latest from Clark Hall, a letter to the university
Why is this such an ongoing struggle? Why is the university dragging its feet on this?

Workplace safety should not be something that leads to grievances. I have asked both CSUEU and CFA to come in on this matter and to file union grievances. I have been having discussions about this matter since I was assigned to work in this facility. In my opinion; this building, as it is currently being operated, poses an ongoing threat to the safety of the students, faculty and staff who occupy it.

If you look at the historic structure fire disasters like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the Rhode Island disco fire of 2003 it was impeded fire exits that caused such horrible loss of life. I have filed grievances and blogged about this and will continue to file grievances and blog about this until the danger is removed. We should be working together on this, not as adversaries. Is the university really intent on perpetuating and defending unsafe working and learning conditions? As a friend of mine said, the problem is now and it needs to be fixed now!
~Steve

Reference, See Posts: | November 9, 2006 | September 7, 2006

Will there be a strike?

So, we marched on the Chancellor’s Office
This was the first time I participated in a job action as a member of the faculty union. Faculty members, supported by students and members of the various staff unions from all over the state marched on the Chancellor’s Office in Long Beach, California as the university trustee’s met. The faculty union in the entire CSU system has been trying to get a fair contract and so far that has not happened. The union may go on strike! This is the university biggest job action I have ever been in in all my years as a labor leader and university employee.

Clark fire exit blocked again

Camera Phone Post: The danger continues
Here is a photo taken this morning of blocked fire exits on the northwest corner of San Jose State University’s Clark Hall, where the Academic Success Center is located and where I work. This is not a new problem. Before, on September 7, 2006 this situation was observed, photographed, reported and blogged. There is even a pending union grievance regarding safety matters related to Clark Hall. I would like to see the following added to that grievance:

• The university shall place appropriate sineage that is clearly visible from a distance to anybody that blocking these fire exits is not allowed.
• The university shall take any other actions necessary to see that these areas are kept clear.

Perhaps what they need to do is to paint on the concrete here in big bold letters Keep Clear!

In my opinion, in the event of a fire or an earthquake, the blocking of these exits could possibly lead to tragic loss of life. Safe working and learning conditions should not be something that leads to labor conflict. Having a safe campus is something we all should be on the same page about.

CFA’s CSI CSU Site

San Francisco, CA – The California Faculty Association (CFA) recently launched an investigative web site, CSI:CSU (http://www.csicsu.org/) that will provide students, parents, staff, faculty, and even those within the Administration with a forum to communicate publicly or anonymously about the problems they see with the leadership of the California State University system.

The web site is a take off on the CBS hit series “CSI,” as the CFA believes that the California State University administration is abusing taxpayer dollars and corrupting higher education in California. Numerous media reports over the last several months have exposed that the CSU administration has been handing out millions of dollars in golden parachute deals to former executives and that the Board of Trustees is making critical budget decisions based on politics instead of on what is best for the students of the CSU system.

SJSU students sleep on sidewalk

Camera Phone Post: Students sleep out at SJSU
Students spent the night on the sidewalk not far from the statues of San Jose State student activists and 1968 Olympic Medal Winners, Tommie Smith and John Carlos. They did this to illustrate the issue of homelessness in our country. Despite all the technology and all the wealth in our society there are still folks who lack a roof over their head. Homelessness is an issue that does not go away. Housing is so very expensive and so many people are a paycheck or two from living on the street. “Over a five-year period, about 2–3 percent of the U.S. population (5–8 million people) will experience at least one night of homelessness,” according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Storm going away

Camera Phone Post: Clearing Storm over SJSU
Storm clouds giving way to sun over tower hall. The rain is ending and it is Friday. Perfect timing!

A day at CSU Stanislaus

I had a great visit to “turkey tech” and spent about five hours there in a very intensive day of shooting. Frank Borrelli is a fantastic union leader. He is president of the California State University Stanislaus (CSUS) CSUEU chapter. He has a way of making being in the union not only be the right thing to do, but also a fun thing to do. It is like everybody on campus knows him, and he knows them. He remembers everybody’s name and knows and remembers details about their families. He can instantly launch into conversations with members of his chapter in a way that shows he genuinely cares about them. He has charisma, charm, optimism and a never ending sense of humor. What a wonderful experience this was. I feel so very lucky to have been able to visit Stanislaus and the two other campuses I have visited so far in this project. I shot over 150 usable images yesterday. The uses for the image library this is building for CSUEU in the UE, organizing fliers, the website and of course the upcoming calendar, in my opinion, are very worthwhile. By featuring a lot of pictures of our constituents we can really show them our desire to put the you in our union.

This has been so much fun, I wish I could have done this years ago!