[act-ma] TUES 3/27 @ NOON: SPEAK OUT AGAINST HARVARD LAYOFFS!!

[Geoff Carens]

Dear All,

The MacArthur foundation recently awarded Harvard a $2.48 million grant.
Joseph O'Donnell just gave his alma mater $30 million. And at roughly $32
billion, Harvard's endowment is much larger than its nearest competitor
(poor Yale has to make do with just $19.4 billion). Not bad for a
tax-exempt, non-profit institution.

Yet despite all its riches, the University is refusing to withdraw layoff
threats against hundreds of campus workers, especially in the libraries. In
the face of the threatened cuts, some longer-service staff are accepting a
meager "voluntary" early retirement deal, and the atmosphere in the
libraries is one of tension and dread. Many workers have been told they are
now considered "shared staff," which is management-speak for "Be very
nervous about your future."

Campus workers refuse to endure having our livelihoods threatened by the
world's richest University. We will not accept losing our jobs! We've
joined with our allies in the Student Labor Action Movement and Occupy
Harvard, and have held four protests since January against the threatened
cuts. On Tuesday March 27, at 12 noon, we'll hold our fifth demonstration,
including a Speak-Out by workers, students and faculty. Harvard's libraries
feature talented staff and an incredible wealth of information, but
previous waves of layoffs have degraded library services. We will detail
the damage job cuts have already done, and expose how much scholarship will
be harmed if yet more dedicated employees are kicked to the curb. One of
the region's largest employers, Harvard will hurt our local economy if the
planned layoffs are tolerated. Please join us!

We'll meet at noon in front of Harvard's Science Center, near the
intersection of Kirkland and Oxford Streets. A map is
here<http://maps.yahoo.com/#q=Kirkland+St+%26+Oxford+St%2C+Cambridge%2C+MA++02138&conf=1&start=1&lat=42.376308&lon=-71.115639&zoom=16&mvt=m&trf=0>.
Please click here <http://www.facebook.com/events/189196047850136/> for the
Facebook event. A flyer is attached. Feel free to forward this message
*widely*.

In Solidarity,

Geoff Carens, Union Rep, Harvard Union of Clerical & Technical Workers
(HUCTW)/AFSCME Local 3650
http://harvardnolayoffs.blogspot.com/
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