Inside Higher Ed reports on the U. of Miami janitors' strike Donna Shalala has helped force... (In the interest of neutrality, she claims.)

Janitors at the University of Miami, most living at or close to the poverty
level, have taken concerns about their working conditions to the next level — a
strike. Many have said they are willing to forgo days of pay they describe as
meager to raise awareness about low-income workers. And since Tuesday evening,
an increasing number have taken to the picket lines, demanding action by both
university administrators and the company they work for.

“Too many people are suffering and don’t have money or health insurance,”
said Darrell Francis, a member of the janitorial groundskeeping crew, who joined
the strike on Thursday. “I’m not only in this for me — so many people are living
from paycheck to paycheck and don’t have a decent salary to get by on.”

Speaking of strikes at universities, today happens to be the three-year anniversary of the first day of the March 2003 Yale strike, the coldest picket line I have ever been on and the first strike at Yale i was actually around for. The highlight was the community "Tear Down The Walls" march for job desegregation at Yale and the rest of the Social Contract, with the Nation Drill Squad (i'm pantomiming flying around the corners as I write this) marching right in front of us and Julie lending me her gloves, and thousands of people marching in the freezing cold for justice from the city's largest employer and private landowner, in solidarity with the thousands of workers on strike.