U of M Labor and Community Strike Support Committee

September 14, 2007

President Robert H. Bruininks
202 Morrill Hall
100 Church Street S.E.
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Dear President Bruininks,

We, the undersigned graduate students in the Geography Department, are writing to express our support and solidarity for the striking AFSCME clerical, technical, and healthcare workers. We wholeheartedly support their struggle for a living wage. We are appalled by the administration’s refusal to provide a basic wage increase for AFSCME workers when the funds were allocated by the state legislature. The lowest paid workers on campus have been forced to sacrifice their pay checks in their effort to get what they deserve.

The AFSCME members in our department perform valuable work, and our research and teaching is heavily dependent on their often invisible support and assistance. As the strike continues in its second week, our departmental operations have been seriously affected. AFSCME members bring years of experience and skills to the department. As a result of the administration’s unwillingness to recognize the invaluable contributions of AFSCME members, our faith in the administration’s commitment towards a positive work environment has seriously wavered.

We urge you to appropriately value the contributions of all members of the university community by returning to the bargaining table and negotiating in good faith.

Brook Bernini-Galup
Ivan Bialostosky
Stefano Bloch
Renata Blumberg
Dudley B. Bonsal
Nathan Clough
Timothy Currie
Elizabeth Fairley
Sarah Ganley
Debarchana Ghosh
Kyle Green
Elizabeth Johnson
Jennifer Kotting
Ursula Lang
Bill Lindeke
Moira McDonald
Tiffany Muller
Emily Murai
Katie Pratt
Julia Rauchfuss
Rajyashree N. Reddy
Kathryn Sharpe
Meagan Snow
Chris Strunk
Omar Tesdell
Marion Traub-Werner
Erin Walsh