Why I Had to Get Involved

Today marks Day 11 of the strike. For 11 days janitors have taken to the streets in protest of what many corporations have deemed to be their lot in life. Most are paid under 10 dollars an hour. Even working full hours, this is not a living wage. But, the workers are forced to work the hours these companies will offer- never enough to secure healthcare benefits and no opportunity for full-time employment. I’m a student at Boston University and a week and half ago I joined the Student Action Labor Project in its campaign to support janitors striking for better wages and health benefits. I’ve joined the janitors in demonstrations downtown and at Copley place; I’ve attended student demonstrations at Northeastern University and MIT; I’ve pledged my support to this cause which seems basic to life—the struggle to secure a wage that a person can life on. The Free Press has given considerable coverage to the Justice for Janitors campaign and the power of student support. Last week students marched down Huntington Ave. in support of the janitors, rallied at MIT demanding the university take responsibility for university-owned property. Today over a hundred and fifty Northeastern Law School professors and students will walk out of class as a sign of support. Nearly half of the student body finds this injustice so egregious that they cannot sit in class while janitors stand outside in protest. And tonight on a corner of the Boston Common, faculty members and students from universities across Boston will meet as a sign of solidarity with the janitors. I’ll be there because I believe it’s wrong to pay a janitor only $39 a day; because I believe it’s wrong for universities, where 2,000 of the 10,000 janitors work, to not support the janitors in these efforts; and because I believe my presence will make a difference. Two years ago at Harvard University after a sit-in lasting over 20 days, students helped workers secure a living wage and increased health care benefits. Very rarely has it been historically possible for students to organize and make a difference. Yet, I feel the past two weeks have provided me with this opportunity. At 5 PM tonight I’ll be standing outside the Boylston T station with hundreds of others, students and faculty alike—simply because this injustice is not something I could ignore. Paying a man or woman $39 a day to clean the buildings we use—without the possibility of full-time work and without health benefits—is not what I feel this country has to offer. Our country promises something more. And sometimes people need others’ support to fulfill that promise.

Daniel J. O’Neil-Ortiz U21-89-6554 [email protected] UNI ’03