URGENT ACTION NEEDED

Hello World System Folks-  This request goes beyond the theoretical into
direct action... in the spirit of the IMF/World Bank Mobilization, and the
rejuvanation of recent activism, could people please take the time to read
this following email and respond to the request for help that workers at
the University of Tennessee Knoxville have put out to the nation?

Cameron Brooks
Knoxville, Tennessee

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"Hide nothing from the masses of the people. Mask no difficulties, 
mistakes, failures... Tell no lies, and claim no easy victories."
    Amilcar Cabral

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 17:01:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: UT WORKERS NEED YOUR HELP <hopeutk@utkux.utcc.utk.edu>
To: Alliance:  ;
Subject: URGENT ACTION NEEDED

PROTECT THE HEALTH OF ALL UT WORKERS!

ANY PERSON WHO WORKS FOR UT AND IS EXPOSED TO BLOOD AND OTHER POTENTIALLY
HAZARDOUS BODY FLUIDS SHOULD BE PROTECTED FROM DISEASE!

PLEASE DEMAND THAT UT PROVIDE HEPATITIS B SHOTS TO ALL EMPLOYEES,
INCLUDING HOUSEKEEPERS AND CUSTODIANS, WHO ENCOUNTER LIFE THREATENING
BLOODBORN PATHOGENS ON A DAILY BASIS!   EMAIL AND PHONE THE UT
ADMINISTRATION NOW!

COME TO THE RALLY AND MARCH ON MAY 1 AT 4 PM IN FRONT OF THE UT LAW SCHOOL
BUILDING ON CUMBERLAND AVENUE!

Many people in the UT community do not know the hard working conditions,
not to mention the bad pay that UT's housekeepers, custodians, and other
workers encounter.  Surprisingly, many would be shocked to know that the
men and women who are responsible for cleaning up the dormitories on the
UT campus encounter health hazards that potentially could take their life
away from them!

That is the reality of work everyday, as many UT housekeepers clean up
blood and unknown body fluids that easily could contain the life
threatening Hepatitis B virus.  There is a simple way for UT to take the
high road and prevent the hazards that these workers face- provide every
employee, free of charge, the Hepatitis B vaccination.

This shot is available to already to certain UT employees free of charge,
but not available to UT's housekeepers.  It is morally wrong for this
practice to continue- It is a matter of life and death; and coupled with
the low pay that many UT workers receive, affording a set of expensive
shots becomes out of reach for many of them.

Please take the time and let President Gilley know that you believe that
UT should provide these shots, free of charge, to all UT employees who are
exposed to hazardous body fluids that could lead to their death.

Please call or email President Gilley and express your opinion on this
matter.  Together, in solidarity, we can make a difference.

*********UT President J. Wade Gilley***********
*********(865) 974- 2241***********************
*********Email:  gillejw@mail.utenn.edu********

Below is a letter the CWLW wrote to the administration on April 24,
concerning the Hepatitis B vaccination.

        "The CWLW is asking the administration to give its housekeepers a
Hepatitis B shot for their safety and that of their family.  The
University of Tennessee says that the housekeepers are not in the correct
category for the hepatitis b shot.  The University says that under routine
housekeeping we do not come in contact with any of the transmissionable
ways to get it.  Well there are a few questions we have for the
administration.

1. What are routine housekeeping duties?
2. How many resident halls only have routine housekeeping duties?
3. Can the administration tell us the ways hepatitis b is transmitted?
4. What is the housekeeping staff to do if there is an emergency that
requires medical assistance?

The reasons we have these questions are simple.  The CWLW had a few
members research the virus.  We found the main way HBV is spread is blood,
but it can also be found in semen, vaginal secretion, and saliva.  Let us
also remember that blood is defined as including cuts, nosebleeds, or
menstrual blood.  HBV is 100 times more infectious than HIV.  For this
reason an estimated 140,000 Americans are infected each year.  Of the
140,000, 70% are between the ages of 15-39, and 75% of those are
teenagers.  University housing participants we believe fall right in the
middle of these statistics."

Please join us for a rally and a march that we will be having, on Monday,
May 1 at 4 PM, beginning in front of the UT Law School building.  Please
come out in solidarity with the Campus Workers for a Living Wage in their
struggle for a living wage AND SAFE WORKING CONDITIONS!

In Solidarity,

the students of Alliance for Hope, on behalf of the Campus Workers for a
Living Wage (CWLW)
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"These are hardly happy times for most of the world, apart from a
privileged few in narrowing sectors.  But it should also be a time of hope
and even optimism."     

        Noam Chomsky

Alliance for Hope- The UT Living Wage Campaign
(865) 546-6721
email:  hopeutk@utk.edu
http://web.utk.edu/~hopeutk