Five undergraduates and one graduate student were taken into police custody Thursday night for blocking a bridge at the bottom of College Street as part of a protest for increased workers' rights for Providence janitors.
Alicia Pantoja '06, Lincoln Restler '06.5, Julian Drix '06.5, Nureen Ghuznavi '08, Sharon Mulligan '06 and Jonna Iacono GS were among 14 people arrested on charges of disorderly conduct after ignoring officers' requests that they move from the street and allow traffic to pass. The students were released on their own recognizance shortly after midnight and will be arraigned next Thursday.
The protest began with a 150-person rally in Kennedy Plaza and a march down Memorial Drive before the participants congregated at the bridge, where those arrested sat in a single line stretching across the street.
Justice for Janitors and the Service Employees International Union Local 615 organized the event to protest what they see as unjust and irresponsible labor practices by Martins Maintenance, the janitorial contractor for the Turks Head building in downtown Providence.
Providence Police Department officers escorted the marchers from Kennedy Plaza and had been told it would end across the river at the Rhode Island School of Design quad.
"They didn't say they were going to sit down or anything," said Lt. Michael Figueiredo.
Organizer Sarah Adler-Milstein '07.5 said a crowd of 150 people, composed of Brown students, local activists and concerned Providence residents, participated in the protest.
Adler-Milstein said the protest was prompted Nov. 25 when a downtown janitor employed by Martins Maintenance - a nonunion contractor also employed by the University to do late-night cleanup at campus eateries - was allegedly assaulted and fired by his supervisor for talking to union representatives.
The event was scheduled to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks' arrest for sitting at the front of a segregated bus. "These 14 arrests are a commitment to the tradition of nonviolent action for change (pioneered by) Rosa Parks," Adler-Milstein said.
Ward 1 City Councilman David Segal, who attended the protest but was not arrested, said the arrests made a "powerful statement" that he hopes will convince the owners of Turks Head, brothers Lloyd and Evan Granoff, to switch janitorial contractors.
As the developers of an upscale apartment complex next door to the historic Turks Head building that will be the tallest building in Providence, the Granoffs have a public image to protect, Segal said.
"One hopes that this will make clear the magnitude of this problem to the people who have authority," Segal said.
SEIU previously led a five-day fast to lobby for higher wages and fair treatment of downcity janitors.
"This march was really to call for an end of the intimidation and violence of downtown janitors. No one should have to face that today," Adler-Milstein said.
