Demonstration and Sit-ins
On March 3, 2006, a demonstration supportive of the striking workers organized by the student group STAND (Students Towards A New Democracy) drew approximately 600 students, faculty, workers, and other supporters. The demonstration began on campus and then crossed U.S. 1, a South Florida freeway adjacent to the university, to Sunset Place, causing some traffic disruptions. On March 28, 2006, seven clergy members were arrested for their participation in a supportive rally that briefly interfered with traffic on U.S. Route 1.
In an effort to further increase pressure on UNICCO and the university to agree to a card-check vote on unionization, a group of approximately 19 UM students from STAND and clergy held a sit-in in the Ashe Administrative Building on March 28, 2006. Participants in the sit-in criticized the university for turning off electricity to the building at 5 p.m. and denying them access to water and restrooms during the sit-in. After 13 hours, the sit-in was called to an end by its organizers after the university issued a statement reiterating its position that its contracted workers have a right to unionize and that its contractors must obey U.S. labor and other laws.
In an April 12, 2006 open letter to the university community, Shalala suggested that a large number of the protesters on April 11 and 12 were organized by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and were unaffiliated with the university.
In mid-April, UM students, several of whom had been hunger-striking, began camping out in front of the Ashe Administration Building, stating that they would remain there until President Shalala made an unambiguous statement of neutrality regarding the unionization process. These students, along with other staff and faculty members, alleged that lawn sprinklers were turned on continuously for several days and nights, presumably to inconvenience the protest. The group ceased this protest on April 26, 2006, in response to President Shalala's letter to the university community stating that the university had no objection to unionization.
Read more about this topic: University Of Miami 2006 Custodial Workers' Strike
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