Briefs

Union Days coming: "Social Justice and Campus Activism" is the theme of this year's Union Days, April 2-4, at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Ives Hall. The events, which are free and open to the public, look at how labor and students intersect today on such issues as the anti-sweatshop campaign, the war in Iraq and organizing campus workers. Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, the youngest person to hold that position in the union's history, is the keynote speaker Wednesday, April 2, at 1 p.m. in 305 Ives Hall.

"He is an eloquent and passionate speaker whose life has been devoted to workers' rights, democracy and social justice," said ILR Assistant Professor Jeff Cowie, the events' organizer. On Thursday, April 3, at 3 p.m. in 280 Ives Hall, a discussion, "Organizing on Campus:Exploring Students, Youth and Labor in the Struggles for Social Justice," includes these panelists:Ben McKean, United Students Against Sweatshops and Harvard Living Wage Campaign; Sonya Mehta, Young Worker Project, San Francisco; Bob Muehlenkamp, national coordinator, U.S. Labor Against the War; and Ellen Thomson, national lead organizer, Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees' campus food-service organizing campaign. Breakout strategy workshops with panelists follow at 4:45 p.m. in Ives Hall classrooms 103, 107, 108 and 112. On Friday, April 4, a Social Justice Career Fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Smithers, Cleary and AFL-CIO lobbies, Ives Hall, offering career options in labor and non-profit organizations, is followed by a reception from 1:30 to 3 p.m., 280 Ives Hall, honoring Cornell alumni in labor and an informal discussion about careers in the labor movement. In conjunction with Union Days, a Thursday double feature at Willard Straight Theatre sponsored by Cornell Cinema features a 7 p.m. showing of "Occupation:The Story of the Harvard Living Wage Campaign" and an 8:15 p.m. showing of "Real Women Have Curves"; $3 for both shows.

Kits for Iraqi families: Several Cornell-affiliated groups are bringing to campus the efforts of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), collecting hygiene kits for Iraqi families through April 25. AFSC is a Quaker organization that involves people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the Religious Society of Friends' (Quaker) belief in the worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice. A kit should include:four adult-size toothbrushes (leave in packaging), one tube of toothpaste (minimum eight ounces), four bars of soap, one plastic bottle of shampoo (13-24 ounce sizes), one box of adhesive bandages (minimum 40, assorted preferred), one fingernail clipper, one hairbrush and one wide-tooth comb.

Kits will be collected daily beginning this week until April 25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Ho Plaza in front of Willard Straight Hall. Organizers point out that if you cannot donate a kit, individual items will be appreciated. Donations also will be accepted at alternative locations during that period -- look for boxes marked Urgent Appeal For Iraqi Families -- A Hygiene Kit Drive at Willard Straight Hall Lobby; Cornell Tradition Office, 107 Day Hall; CRESP (Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy), 117 Anabel Taylor Hall; Noyes Community Center; Robert Purcell Community Center; Appel Community Center; or Ten Thousand Villages, 156 The Commons. The sponsors of the drive are CU Amnesty International, Anti-War Coalition, CRESP, Cornell Tradition SAC, Cornell UNICEF Campus Group and Protestant Cooperative Ministry. For more information, contact Anke Wessels at akw7@cornell.edu or visit http://www.afsc.org/iraq/kits.shtm.

Systems down during upgrade: In early April, a team will upgrade the current PeopleSoft HR/Payroll system to version 8 of PeopleSoft, which provides more functionality and better options for the future. There will be no changes to paycheck schedules or production, nor any significant changes to associated systems once the upgrade is complete. The upgrade process will begin at noon Friday, April 4, and will finish by the start of business on Wednesday, April 9. During the upgrade work, all HR and Payroll systems will be unavailable. For the majority of people, the only noticeable effect will be that Employee Essentials and COLTS will be down (the Kronos time clocks will still be working). However, administrators around campus should know that the following systems also will be down:the PeopleSoft HR/Payroll system, Position and Employee Data Lookup (PEDL), Student Employment System (SES), Welcome to Cornell registration system (WTC) and the Net ID Admin client. For those with any issues or questions regarding this effort, e-mail Barb Mueller at bm89@cornell.edu.

Recruitsoft goes online: Cornell is in the process of changing the way that interested applicants can view open positions and apply for nonacademic/nonbargaining unit and librarian positions. To assist applicants in the job search process, a searchable online posting system will allow all applicants to view all open positions. During the transition period, positions posted March 24 or earlier can be accessed through http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Admin/JOBOPS/. To access positions posted March 25 or later, visit http://www.ohr.cornell.edu/jobs. Contact the Recruitment and Employment Center at 254-8370 (TTY 255-4943) if you have questions.

ACSW seeks members: The Advisory Committee on the Status of Women at Cornell is seeking new members to begin terms in the fall of 2003. All Cornell staff, faculty and students who are interested in advancing the interests and status of women at Cornell are encouraged to apply. This committee serves in an advisory capacity to the Cornell administration and seeks to advocate for women and to educate themselves and the university community on women's issues. More information about the ACSW is available at http://web.cornell.edu/acsw/. An application for membership can be obtained at this site or by sending e-mail to acsw@cornell.edu. Submit applications by April 28.