THU 12 NOON, PICKET AGAINST ABLEISM & DISCRIMINATION AT HARVARD!

[Geoff Carens]

Dear All,

This Thursday, July 30, starting at 12 noon, workers, students & community members will demonstrate their support for HUCTW* member Patricia, under attack by ableist, racist managers. We'll gather in front of Harvard's Smith Campus Center at 1350 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Harvard Square MBTA Station, next to Au Bon Pain). Please join us!

Background: Patricia returned from a disability leave to face unfair discipline and harassment. Management tries to make her job more difficult, denies her needed accommodations, and subjects her to hyper-supervision. White colleagues enjoy flexibility and autonomy, while Patricia (the only African American in her unit) is constantly under the magnifying glass. She recently received a written warning threatening her with being fired. Patricia is a dedicated, long-serving cataloger who worked her way through library school while employed at Harvard.

The attacks on Patricia emerge in the context of a general offensive against workers by Harvard, which has an endowment approaching $33 billion and recently received the largest gift in its history ($400 million). The world's richest University is forcing huge increases in medical costs on its workers, setting the stage for mass layoffs by outsourcing the work of unionized library employees, and preventing workers of color from advancing in their jobs. Please feel free to forward this email as widely as possible.

For Boston's Industrial Workers of the World,

Geoff

*Harvard Union of Clerical & Technical Workers