[act-ma] THU 2/16 5:30 P.M. ACTION AGAINST LAYOFFS, IN SOLIDARITY WITH OCCUPY HARVARD!!

[Geoff Carens]

Dear Everybody,

All across the manicured Harvard campus, library workers are being told
they are now considered "shared services," by management, vulnerable to
losing their jobs. 275 employees over 55 have been "offered" a meagre
buy-out, while being bombarded with messages that their positions could
soon be cut. Two previous waves of layoffs have already diminished library
services at the world's richest university, which has *no need* to lay
anyone off. Workers and students are rebelling in the face of a
corporate-style reorganization scheme which would hurt local communities
and academic scholarship too. Concerned graduate students in Occupy Harvard
set up camp in Lamont Library (ordinarily open 24 hrs/day), only to face
heavy-handed intimidation. Managers in Library Operations have blanketed
the building with hot-pink flyers threatening students and staff with
discipline, loss of library privileges, even criminal prosecution! A heavy
police presence in the Library has added to the oppressive atmosphere. This
is despite the fact that OH has made every effort to show consideration to
all library users.

This Thursday, Feb.16, campus workers and our allies will gather at Lamont
Library, near the intersection of Quincy and Harvard Streets in Cambridge.
Please click here<http://maps.yahoo.com/#tt=&q=Quincy+St+%26+Harvard+St%2C+Cambridge%2C+MA++02138&conf=1&start=1&lat=42.372311&lon=-71.11515&zoom=16&mvt=m&trf=0>for
a map. We'll meet at 5:30 p.m,. to picket in solidarity with Occupy
Harvard, to call attention to their protest, and to show our implacable
opposition to more staff cuts! Harvard is Cambridge's largest employer,
with about 900 workers in the libraries alone. The University's
opportunistic shedding of staff will just make the job market that much
tougher for everyone, and further undermine our local economy. You can help
us send the message that efforts to kick workers to the curb will blow up
in Harvard's moneyed face! The Facebook event is
here<http://www.facebook.com/events/107269846063863/>.
Please find attached a statement from Occupy Harvard. Feel free to forward
this message as widely as possible.

For the 99%!

Geoff Carens, Union Rep, Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical
Workers/AFSCME Local 3650
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