While Penn has not been affected by union strikes in over 30 years, Yale University has recently been less fortunate.
At Saturday's protest, thousands of striking union workers were arrested. And while Yale University's clerical, maintenance and technical workers are continuing negotiations with Yale to have their contracts renewed, the Federation of Hospital and University Employees -- the organization that has led the protest -- is now planning to take the dispute to a national level, involving other union members across the country.
"What's happening at Yale is a microcosm of what is happening everywhere," Federation spokeswoman Deborah Chernoff said.
Represented by two unions, Locals 34 and 35, many employees chose to protest against the pension provisions in their renewed contract and decided to go on strike on Aug. 27, the first day of student move-in.
Yale junior Kenneth Freije said that the strike "has disrupted the routine of moving in -- but the protesters were pretty much respectful to the people moving in."
The strikes have mostly affected the dining halls, all but one of which closed. Yale was forced to refund meals to students and to offer free passes as compensation.
Despite the nuisances, the Federation said that undergraduates have taken an active stand in the issue.
"We have had tremendous support from the undergraduates," Chernoff said. "There has been a very, very high level of student activity and support."
On their part, many undergraduate students appear to regard the current situation as an "inconvenience," Yale junior Andrew Read said. "College life really isn't normal.... It's an unfortunate situation, which could have been resolved by a third-party intervention."
However, many students said that they were having trouble understanding the debate.
"It's hard to know what's really going on," Yale freshman Sabrina Poon said. "Conceptually, I support [the protesters], but it has gotten out of hand."
Other students, however, did not find the union's arguments to be valid.
"The university is being quite reasonable and ha[s] tried to help the employees as much as possible," Yale sophomore Mia Smucny said. "I don't know who's right and who's wrong."
And, with the nation's current economic challenges in mind, Freije added that "it is the unions who are being ridiculous, not Yale."
Union members have responded to such claims by saying that Yale is not providing them with a "decent pension," Chernoff said.
She added that the average pension for employees with more than 20 years of service is $621 per month -- "obviously not enough to live on."
"Even at a time when people have been losing money, Yale has been successful," Chernoff said, adding that Yale's endowment this year is estimated at $11 billion.
As soon as the current situation is resolved, Yale officials have said that they will continue to meet with union representatives to discuss possible amelioration for the upcoming contracts -- satisfying requests for higher wages, pensions, benefits and vacations.
The union members' goal is to receive compensations that equal those of Harvard University and of other institutions in the area -- where "the salaries are much higher, about 25 percent more," Chernoff said.
Like Harvard, Penn is another institution that seems to hold an enviable position, as its employees have not gone on strike in over three decades.
"For the past 30-plus years, we had our ups and downs," said Daniel Applegate, a Penn Library Service assistant and a member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "But now it seems that relations with the administration are fairly good."
In fact, contrary to Yale's contract proposal, the Penn administration offers its union members a contract that is normally accepted by the majority of union members, mostly thanks to its clarity and fairness.
"Everything is spelled out -- it really corrects a lot of problems that are present in a non-collective bargaining workplace," Applegate said. "There's a lot to be said about a contract where both sides are responsible."
With regard to the Yale strikes, Applegate said that "it is unfortunate that Yale feels the right to shorthand these people."
