The temperature in the Puerto Rican labor climate keeps rising as tensions between the government and workers reach a new height as a result of Governor Fortuño's layoffs of 16,970 public employees last Friday. Puerto Rican workers, both organized and unorganized, continue to protest peacefully to demand a rollback of the layoffs.

Here's a quick snapshot of Thursday's Oct. 1 actions:

1. With SEIU local leaders at the helm, several labor leaders of the Labor Coalition burst into the 21st floor of the Labor Department yesterday morning, blocking the entrance to Secretary Manual Romano's office and demanding a meeting. After a two hour sit-in, the no-show from the Labor Secretary prompted the leaders to pronounce the position of the Secretary of Labor "vacant." Thankfully, no police brutality ensued. Hopefully the unauthorized police anti-riot unit that showed up after-the-fact found some other way to occupy their afternoon.

2. SPT-SEIU members led a demonstration in Yauco against Governor Fortuño Thursday afternoon, where the Governor arrived--and left--by air in a helicopter. What a man of the people, right? Undeterred by the Governor's departure, however, local SEIU members announced they will "follow him wherever he goes."

3. A spur-of-the-moment act of civil disobedience erupted at the Capitol after a group of public citizens were blocked from access blocked from access to the Senate session they'd traveled to the Capitol to view. Hundreds of public employees channeled their frustration peacefully, as they all sat down in front of the closed door and sang the national Puerto Rican anthem as they waited.

The group stayed until it was definite the doors wouldn't open for them, and then the sit-in ended peacefully, with the employees warning they would return. "We are not terrorists, we are not criminals. We are mothers and fathers after a little hope. We are going to make our rights be acknowledged and respected in a respectful way," said Carmen Judith Ruiz, an SEIU Local 1996SPT member who was laid off from the Department of Natural resources after 14 years.

4. The parents of special education students gathered in Caguas Thursday afternoon to protest what they referred to as the "dismantling" of the program that serves 20,000 kids in the region. The parents, who are understandably outraged, warned the government that they will not tolerate layoffs of the teachers that teach their children.

5. Devoted advocates of culture and education rallied in San Germán yesterday, protesting the discharge of all but one employee at the Porta Coeli church and museum (one of the oldest in the island).

6. Target Practice: Workers employed with Dept. of Education and Dept. of Corrections agencies in Hato Rey used their lunch break yesterday to work on their aim, throwing dozens of eggs at cardboard images of the Governor provided to the workers by their unions to help them "relieve some of the stress." We think they might be onto something here. After all, anyone who gets up and goes to work each day knows how important the occasional exercise in stress relief is to stay motivated and productive at your job. Could we be looking at a new favorite past-time for public employees?