… in the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes that the most charitable description of what’s been going on at the clubby University of Minnesota medical school would be “bizarre.”
Sunday, August 26, 2007
![](http://bp1.blogger.com/_PZ-J57NWAyg/RtGIzzUrkrI/AAAAAAAAAUM/DN20QRXowOI/s0-d/OurLeaderHorse.jpg)
Some Pigs
Are More Equal
Than Other Pigs
AFSCME voted (73% favorable) to turn down BigU's latest contract offer. Thus it appears that a strike may occur on the first day of fall semester classes at the University of Minnesota. Clerical and technical workers are not happy with the proposed salary increase.
OurLeader's response:
Bruininks acknowledged that a first-day-of-school strike "would not be pleasant." He also said that the university would have to adjust its budgets if the AFSCME workers are given a larger contract.
"We would have to go back and make some appropriate adjustments to [other employee groups'] compensation," Bruininks said. "When you start to multiply the impact of this, the impact could be very great.
Ah, the old divide and conquer technique. Rather ham-handed, don't you think? But then Bruininks is a self-described 'dirty player' and apparently proud of it.
"The only way it could happen would be by cutting budgets and, inevitably, that means laying people off. [Could this be a threat?] I don't think it's a very good bargain and I'm not willing to enter into one that will weaken the university at this time."
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Ciao, Bonzo