Yale University strike comes to an end

Yale University service and maintenance employees returned to work last week, ending a four-week strike protesting Yale's efforts to cut budget costs. The strike was part of a strategy to renew a contract for members of locals 34 and 35 of the Federation of University Employees. The contract expired February 7. The members of Local 34, which represents Yale's clerical workers, began their strike in February. Local 35 followed soon after that. Despite the end of the strikes, negotiations between the union and the university have not produced a contract settlement, according to Local 35 spokesperson Deborah Chernoff. "This is part of a long-term strategy," Chernoff said. "In the long run we're going to have to wait until we get a contract to see if the strikes were effective." Chernoff added that the strikes succeeded in demonstrating that Yale workers will not accept the university's budget cuts. The Local 35 strike had a 97 percent turnout from the union's workers. As a result of their strike, some classes were forced to move off-campus and trash pick-up and intramural mail delivery were suspended, Chernoff said. Shortly after the strike ended, 117 Yale employees, classified as "casual" workers, voted overwhelmingly to join Local 35. "This is an extraordinary thing -- workers voting to join a union two days after the end of a strike," Local 35 President Bob Proto said. "But casual workers have been getting a raw deal from Yale for a long time. "They've been strung along with the promise of a real job but remained 'permanent temps' with no way to move into the regular work force," Proto added. Yale officials have announced that they will seek to block the employees who voted to join Local 35 from becoming union members. Chernoff noted that the casual workers' vote shows the effectiveness of the union's protest against Yale. "People are normally discouraged from joining a union that strikes -- not encouraged," she said. With no settlement reached, Local 34 and Local 35 will continue their protests, according to Chernoff. The unions are planning a "massive" demonstration during Yale's commencement ceremony.

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