Yale administrators, union in standoff over contracts

Negotiations between union officials and administrators at Yale University are at a standstill following the expiration of union contracts last weekend. Members of Locals 34 and 35, made up of food service, maintenance, clerical and other workers, have been working without a contract since Monday. Many University contracts were agreed to over the summer and the University settled most quickly. But major University services including Dining Service and University Police have struck in the last decade. Yale spokesperson Martha Matzke said talks probably would not resume in earnest until after Thursday. "Both sides are assessing their current position," she said. Union officials are battling the Yale administration for job security, health benefits and higher pay. According to Matzke, the impasse comes at a time when Yale is trying to make budget cuts. "Yale is facing . . . the financial constraints of the 1990s," Matzke said. "It just is coincidence that we have a labor negotiation this year." Deborah Chernoff, a spokesperson for Yale's Federation for University Employees, said the unions understand the need for cutbacks and layoffs, but that they object to the university's handling of the situation. "We don't say they can't downsize," Chernoff said. "We say we need to have some control over the way they downsize." While the administration and the unions said little progress was made in the days before the contract expired, both sides are still downplaying the likelihood of a strike. But Chernoff said a strike is still possible. "If there is no progress made very soon, there is no doubt there will be a full blown strike," she said. "[But] we still believe we can settle here without a strike." Union members will vote Thursday whether or not to give their negotiators the authority to call a strike if that becomes necessary. Provided that vote passes, Matzke said, "The union has informed the university it will set a tentative deadline of February 12 [to begin a strike]." But Chernoff denied that the union has set a deadline. Chernoff added that the union needs to give the University 10 days notice before a strike can legally begin. Still, she said union members staged a three-hour mini-strike early Monday afternoon "to protest the lack of progress in negotiations." Chernoff estimated that about 3500 people participated in the mini-strike, including many graduate school teaching assistants, who are not unionized. Gordon Lafer, a spokesperson for Yale's Graduate Employee and Student Organization, said graduate students on campus have worked towards forming a union for about 18 months. He said the administration has so far refused to accept the students' proposal. "Everything the administration has communicated to us is that they're not even ready to talk about our proposals," he said. Lafer said graduate students joined the mini-strike to show their support for the unions and to rally for unionization.

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