University of Minnesota-Duluth maintains an administered and staffed "Study in England" program at the University of Birmingham. Year by year, UMD faculty and UMD administrators are resident on the Selly Oak campus in Birmingham.

The UCU represents 120,000 employees in Further and Higher Education in the United Kingdom. At the University of Birmingham, UCU represents academic and academic-related staff while Unison represents mainly clerical staff.

As a gesture of solidarity, members of Unison and UCU handed out copies of the Minnesota AFSCME strikers\' leaflets on Monday.

"I\'m pleased to offer my support to the staff at the University of Minnesota," said Matthew Raine, Branch Secretary of Unison at the University of Birmingham in England. "Trade Unionists face the same problems the world over and it\'s important we support each other in our struggle for justice in whatever ways we can."

Denise Osterholm, president of AFSCME Local 3801 at UMD, and Seamas Cain, a member of the Strike Solidarity Committee, spoke at a news conference Monday to thank workers in England for their support. Photo by Larry Sillanpa, Duluth Labor World

For more information
Visit the AFSCME Local 3801 strike page, www.freewebs.com/labor