It’s a safe bet to assume that many of these Berkeley students are the same ones who have protested the school’s rising tuition costs. So where’s the disconnect? Do they not realize that the unions they’re protesting for, are a significant cause of their rising tuition?

Oliver Darcy of Campus Reform reports.

Students at the University of California – Berkeley (Cal) on Thursday protested against the school’s administration claiming it is attempting to “privatize the university by subcontracting out union jobs.”

“The students and workers at Cal are adamantly opposed to this corporate-motivated management of workers and will do all that we can to spread the injustice of the administration’s actions,” reads a statement put out by an event organizer last week.

The protest flared after the administration fired five custodians who worked in Eshelman Hall.

Sponsors included the International Socialist Organizers, Mecha, Students for a Democratic University, and multiple unions which include the UAW 2865, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, among others.

Event organizers demanded “justice for the Eshleman 5,” insisting the move was made with the specific aim of eliminating union jobs.

Cal, however, insists the move was simply a necessary common-sense measure.

University spokeswoman Janet Gilmore told Campus Reform that the building in which these five custodians currently work is set to be demolished in early 2013, thus, eliminating the need for custodial staff.

“It’s simply because the need wasn’t there,” said Gilmore. “The building won’t be there.”