Join an Email Blitz for Harvard Workers Under Management Attack
Dear Everyone,
Solidarity is urgently needed for two union members at Harvard who are under the gun right now! Please take a moment & send a quick email protest.
Randy Fenstermacher works as a library guard in his union's lowest salary grade. Despite 20 years' experience at Harvard, Randy only gets three shifts a week, and is homeless. In violation of the union's contract, management assigns Randy even fewer shifts when the library is open shorter hours. A former union rep, Randy is 64. Management has given him two unfair warnings and is now moving to fire him. Randy was written up for ridiculous reasons, among them alerting a student about some lost belongings!
Marvin Byrd is another part-time worker in his union's lowest pay grade. At 61, Marvin has worked at Harvard since 1995. Marvin has diabetic foot disease, has endured amputations and walks with braces. He is also perfectly capable of doing his job in one of Harvard's mail rooms. After a recent, approved short-term disability leave, Marvin was told his hours would be cut. All his co-workers kept their regular schedules. Marvin was directed to assent to working diminished hours, and even threatened that he would be laid off if he did not agree! He is now losing income he very much needs, and management won't even meet to discuss the situation.
Please don't let these workers slip through the cracks. Send the message below to William Murphy of Harvard's Labor Relations Dept. Feel free to cut and paste, or write your own version. Suggested text:
"I am very troubled by reports of termination threats against homeless HUCTW member Randy Fenstermacher. I understand that Marvin Byrd, another HUCTW member, who has diabetes, had his hours cut after an approved short-term disability leave. I call on Harvard to remove the unfair warnings and threats of firing from Randy Fenstermacher's file, and restore Marvin Byrd's lost hours. I will be watching these cases with interest."
Please send your protest to: bill_murphy@harvard.edu. Pls cc me at geoff.carens@gmail.com.
Thank you all for your defense of workers' rights! Please forward this email everywhere! A Facebook event for the email blitz is here.
In Solidarity,
Geoff Carens, Union Rep, HUCTW/AFSCME local 3650
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No Layoffs Campaign Blog at: http://harvardnolayoffs.blogspot.com/
