University of Miami 2006 Custodial Workers' Strike - National Attention

National Attention

The UM custodial strike attracted national attention, including visits by several out-of-town political and labor leaders in support of the strike:

  • On April 22, 2006, Cambridge, Massachusetts City Council Member Marjorie Decker visited the strikers. UNICCO has many contracts with institutions in Cambridge, where Harvard University is located, and Harvard University students and workers previously launched a similar campaign against UNICCO, calling for higher wages and benefits for Harvard's UNICCO employees. Following her visit to UM, Decker returned to Cambridge and placed this item on the agenda for the Cambridge City Council meeting of April 24, 2006, urging that Cambridge "go on record urging the Harvard University Presidential Search Committee, when choosing the next leader of Harvard University, to consider candidates’ record of support for living wages, workplace health and safety, and workers’ right to organize."
  • On April 25, 2006, a press conference at UM's "Strike Sanctuary" featured Eliseo Medina, SEIU's Vice President, James P. Hoffa, Jr., Teamsters' President, Charles Steele, Southern Christian Leadership Conference President, and former U.S. Senator and Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards, all of whom expressed support for the objectives of the strike and specifically for the legitimacy of a card check voting process. Edwards stated: "If a Republican can join the Republican party by signing a card, then a worker should be able to join a union by signing a card."
  • In early 2007, Mad Ones Productions completed a documentary, Sí Se Puede, which followed the custodial workers' strike from November 2005 to its resolution in May 2006. A work in progress cut won the "Best Documentary" award at Canesfest 2006, the University of Miami's annual film festival.

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