Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Impeach John Casteen

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion: Presidential (Through Nov 2009) Donate to DU
 
davidswanson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-17-06 03:07 AM
Original message
Impeach John Casteen
By David Swanson

Presidents and Prime Ministers who most deserve to be ridden out of office on a rail: George W. Bush, Tony Blair, and John Casteen.

John Who?




John Casteen is the President of the University of Virginia. For years now, he's been sitting on over a billion dollars while paying employees poverty wages. This past weekend he had 17 students arrested and hauled off to jail for sitting in to protest this injustice and to demand a living wage for workers at the University.

Rather than applauding these students for their sacrifice on behalf of others, and rather than sitting down to negotiate with them, Casteen chose to call in the cops.

It was a move worthy of our nation's president, but what most brings Bush and Blair to mind when I think about the commander of Jefferson's sweat shop is the ridiculous string of lies he's put forth over the years to justify his refusal to pay a decent wage.

Sadly, there is no appropriate mechanism for investigating his lies and for impeaching and removing Casteen from office. But it might help if about a million people were to contact the "Board of Visitors" and ask them to send Casteen packing unless he establishes a living wage for both direct and contracted employees – and a living wage indexed to keep pace with the cost of living so that we don't have to come back to kicking Casteen's butt every year.

CONTACT THE BOARD OF VISITORS:
http://www.virginia.edu/bov/visitorsandstaff.html

This has been going on for over nine years now, and Casteen has been stonewalling and foot-dragging the entire time. Wages have been inching upward as a result of pressure from students, professors, workers, and members of the Charlottesville community. But so has the cost of living.

During these years we've seen expansions to the law school and the business school, a new football stadium, a new basketball stadium, a new bookstore, a new parking garage, new tennis courts, new balconies on the Lawn, a remodeling of Newcomb Hall, the construction of an office park near the airport, a bail out of the QualChoice health plan, new satellite campuses, and huge raises in pay for professors. So, naturally, an underlying theme to all of Casteen's cruel claims has been "There's not enough money."

What else have we been told?

It's not under UVA's control; it's up to the state government in Richmond.

We can't put wage standards contracts with companies; they won't let us.

We must follow the market, which will decide correct pay levels for us.

Wage standards cause unemployment.

People only stay in low-wage jobs a short while before bettering themselves.

Raising wages means raising tuition.

Workers have the right to quit.

Workers have the right to speak their minds and have nothing to fear from doing so.

State employees are barred from joining unions.

Faculty representation on the Board of Visitors would be tantamount to illegal unionization.

Workers would be better off if students and professors would leave them alone and stop trying to raise their pay.

If UVA weren't paying proper wages it wouldn’t have any workers.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Iraq was behind 9/11. The smoking gun could be a mushroom cloud. I had no idea Hurricane Katrina would do so much damage. We never spy on Americans without court approval. Saddam Hussein could attack us within 45 minutes.

Lies, lies, and more lies. UVA is the market in Charlottesville, and yet pays below average wages. No laws prevent unionization. Nothing could stop Casteen from raising wages for direct or indirect employees if he chose to do so. The people who clean and cook at his university have to work second jobs and never see their families.

Learn some facts here:
http://www.uvalivingwage.net

AND THEN CONTACT THE BOARD OF VISITORS:
thomas_farrell@dom.com, dabramprop@aol.com, mac.caputo@morganstanley.com, adiamonstein@pwhd.com, syd@AllianceGroupLtd.com, willisgeorgia@yahoo.com, sfitzhugh@mac.com, fralinh@mfa.net, glynn.key@wilmer.com, vjmastracco@kaufcan.com, LFPayne@mwcllc.com, dpippin@usa.net, grainey@hunton.com, wthompson@thompsonhospitality.com, evaughan@med.cornell.edu, jowynne@jowinc.com, lizziemullen@virginia.edu

Thomas F. Farrell, II, Rector
804-819-2112
thomas_farrell@dom.com

Daniel R.Abramson
703-683-1110
dabramprop@aol.com

A. Macdonald Caputo
212-762-7985
mac.caputo@morganstanley.com

Alan A. Diamonstein
757-223-4576
adiamonstein@pwhd.com

Susan Y. Dorsey (Syd)
804-648-6299
syd@AllianceGroupLtd.com

Georgia Willis Fauber
434-386-9672
willisgeorgia@yahoo.com

G. Slaughter Fitz-Hugh, Jr.
804-353-2309
sfitzhugh@mac.com

W. Heywood Fralin, Vice Rector
540-776-7444
fralinh@mfa.net

Glynn D. Key
202-663-6091
glynn.key@wilmer.com

Vincent J. Mastracco, Jr.
757-624-3213
vjmastracco@kaufcan.com

Lewis F. Payne
202-857-2903
LFPayne@mwcllc.com

Don R. Pippin
276-679-2030
dpippin@usa.net

Gordon F. Rainey, Jr.
804-788-8275
grainey@hunton.com

Warren M. Thompson
703-964-5501
wthompson@thompsonhospitality.com

E. Darracott Vaughan, Jr., M.D.
212-746-5480
evaughan@med.cornell.edu

John O. Wynne
757-446-2007
jowynne@jowinc.com

Anne Elizabeth Mullen
434-953-6254
lizziemullen@virginia.edu
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top

Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion: Presidential (Through Nov 2009) Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC