Jesse Jackson Supports Yale University Strikers; Makes Connections Between Labor and Civil Rights Struggles

Excerpt of speech by Rev. Jesse Jackson, speaking at Yale University, produced by Melinda Tuhus

Over the course of several days in the last week of August, the Rev. Jesse Jackson stood in solidarity with striking workers at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. Locals 34 and 35 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union represent 4,000 office, maintenance and dining hall workers who walked out Aug. 27, 19 months after their last contract expired. They're seeking better wages, more protection against layoffs through outsourcing, and higher pensions. The average monthly pension for those with 20 or more years of service at Yale is $621, while the president of Yale, Richard Levin, recently got a deal from the university's board of trustees to pay him a pension of $29,000 a month when he retires.

Jackson has been in the streets rallying with thousands of Yale strikers and their supporters among faculty, students and community residents. He also held a private meeting with Levin after eight retirees conducted a sit-in at the office of David F. Swensen, the university's chief investment officer. The long-time civil rights leader was arrested on Labor Day at Yale, along with 18 others after they blocked an intersection in an act of civil disobedience.

Aug. 28 was the 40th anniversary of the 1963 civil rights March on Washington, best known for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Jackson delivers a national address every year on the anniversary of the march. This year he spoke from a platform set up on a New Haven street where Yale employees have been picketing. Hanging from the platform was a banner with the words "Bux (as in 'bucks') et Veritas," a spoof on Yale's motto of "lux et veritas" or "truth and light." The following are excerpts from Jackson's speech, recorded by Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus.

For more information, about the demands of the workers and the latest developments in Yale's labor struggle, call HERE at (203) 624-5161 or visit www.yaleunions.org

Related links


* "Jackson Arrested at Labor March," Associated Press, Sept. 2, 2003

* "Yale Braces for Long Strike," by Mary E. O'Leary and Mark Zaretsky, New Haven Register, Aug. 27, 2003

* "The Yale union protests in pictures," Associated Press, Sept. 2, 2003

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