Harvard Sit-In Produces Results ...
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
A 21-day sit-in at Harvard University by some 30 students — part of a coalition in which AFSCME has long been active — furthered the goal of a "living wage" for campus employees and brought praise from Pres. Gerald W. McEntee.
The protest ended on May 8 with students still demanding that all employees receive a minimum of $10.25 an hour. However, the students called off their sit-in after negotiations produced an agreement between the administration and lawyers from the AFL-CIO.
Harvard said it would consider increasing the pay of some 1,000 campus employees who currently make less than $10.25 per hour, providing health benefits to hundreds who now lack them and eliminating subcontracting. Meanwhile, about 4,100 clerical and technical service workers at Harvard, represented by AFSCME Local 3650 (Council 93) received a pay hike of up to 7 percent.
"America's promise is that anyone willing to work hard can create a better life for their family," McEntee declared. "Yet the security, food service, custodial and other workers at Harvard toil long hours for salaries that are grossly inadequate to meet their families' basic needs. That's why your campaign is an example of student activism at its finest."
... With Help from a 'Son of AFSCME'
The low-wage employees who serve food, clean dorms and perform other critical functions at Harvard weighed heavy on the conscience of Daniel DiMaggio, who is attending the university with help from an AFSCME Family Scholarship. Instead of just anguishing about the situation, however, he acted on it.
The 19-year-old history major joined the student-led sit-in to demand the college pay its workforce a living wage. He understood the importance of standing up for one's fellow workers, being the son of Gerard DiMaggio, a driver for the Putnam County Office for the Aging and member of New York's Civil Service Employees Association/AFSCME Local 1000.
The AFSCME scholarship also helped focus his thoughts. "It means a lot to me because it shows that people care about my education," he explains. "I want to return the blessing by always keeping workers in mind and striving to make sure people are getting what they deserve."
DiMaggio says that, "What we did is raise the issue of economic justice and the living wage all across the country, and to force people to deal with both matters at the university."
He says that Harvard officials are thinking about punishing those who participated in the sit-in. But if the protesters are guilty of anything, "it might be bravery." As for his own "guilt," he adds, "For one of the first times in my life, I can really say I stood up for something I believed in."
His parents are proud of their son's stand. "Dan and his fellow protesters have brought a great awareness of the issue of the working poor and the living wage," says mother Maureen. "I don't think we could have paid for a better education than Dan just got" by participating in the sit-in.
What's next for the neophyte activist? "I might want to be a teacher," young DiMaggio says, "or a union organizer."
