Socialists and Union Meet
By John Byrne

An undercurrent of apparent tension between the leadership of the Oberlin College Office and Professional Employees union and the student-led Socialist Alternative seems to be lessening, as union leaders and socialists meet Friday, Nov. 22 to discuss issues surrounding conflicts which arose when the socialists mounted a protest that overshadowed the union’s two weeks ago. The open forum was held today.
“The breakdown that occurred between the student movement and the unions has been exaggerated,” Socialist Alternative leader Ted Virdone said Wednesday. “There’s much more collaboration and communication than have been reported.”
But he admitted that errors were made. “There have been breakdowns, we made mistakes,” he said.
In particular, he said, SA erred in not showing OCOPE the flyer that was circulated at their protests two weeks ago Thursday.
“We should have shown them the leaflet,” he said. “We’re sorry we had one number wrong on that leaflet.
“More importantly, we should have run the press release by them,” he added. “In retrospect, it would have been better for the press release to have been for Friday’s action.”
SA sent a press release to the Cleveland Plain Dealer on the protest, and the Plain Dealer ran a story on Friday. Because they had covered a story Thursday, the paper declined to cover Friday’s event.
OCOPE Vice President Julie Weir agreed.
“The only clash we have had was in scheduling the demonstrations, and unfortunately the press was unwilling to cover two events,” she said.
“I would encourage students to continue to seek out and talk to union
members and workers on campus, to learn more about the facts, that there are issues beyond just the layoffs,” she continued, “and to continue to express their concerns to the Administration, to let them know that things that negatively impact workers negatively impact students.
“I hope that students, when there are rallies or demonstrations, will continue to participate. The Administration needs to learn that students are concerned and [that] there will be future demonstrations,” she added.
“Something that I think has been lost in these discussion is the overriding fact that we are all in this together,” Virdone said.
“These layoffs are also cuts in student services, and they also affect the community,” he added. “We all have to fight the Administration together.”