No Strike Roulette: The House Has Fixed the Game

In the UM Strike FAQ provided by the administration, they say the following:

Q: Will picket lines be established around campus perimeters or in front of University of Miami buildings?

A: No. Any potential picket lines should be confined to the pre-designated entrance to the Coral Gablescampus reserved for UNICCO employees. This reserved entrance has been established pursuant to NLRB rulings that seek to avoid enmeshing individuals who are not parties to the dispute. UNICCO, UNICCO employees, and union organizers are aware of the designated location, which will be clearly indicated with appropriate signage. The designated location is at the parking lot entrance just south of the Alumni House between Brescia Avenueand Red Road.

Q: Will faculty, staff, students, vendors, or visitors be required to cross or pass a picket line in order to gain access to campus parking lots or buildings?

A: No. Any potential picket lines should be confined to the pre-designated entrance to the Coral Gables campus reserved for UNICCO employees. This reserved entrance has been established pursuant to NLRB rulings that seek to avoid enmeshing individuals who are not parties to the dispute. UNICCO, UNICCO employees, and union organizers are aware of the designated location, which will be clearly indicated with appropriate signage. The designated location is at the parking lot entrance just south of the Alumni House between Brescia Avenue and Red Road.

In other words, no roving pickets, no strike roulette.

But if there’s one legal and symbolic picket location (in a corner of the campus where most students never go, I might add), then we have no choice but to treat the entire campus as covered by a picket line, do we?

Is the really bad national publicity worth this sort of hardball?

I’m glad I took a big load of books and papers home last Monday. Now I just don’t know whether to hope that faculty meetings will or will not be held on campus….