Yale campus back to normal after strikes

Yesterday was the start of a new school year in many ways for Yale University students.

After about three weeks of strikes that involved approximately 3,000 workers, the university and leaders of unions Local 34 and 35 reached an agreement Thursday night. It allowed union members to return to work and the campus to be restored to a sense of normalcy yesterday morning, according to Yale University spokesman Tom Conroy.

The union members, which include clerical, technical, service and maintenance staffers, agreed on Friday to an eight-year contract that will expire in January 2010. This is the longest union contract in the history of the university, according to Conroy.

"We wanted an agreement that was good for the university, the workers and the local economy... and we got it," Conroy said.

Bill Meyerson, the spokesman for the Federation of Hospital and University Employees, said that union members are "very happy with the results."

Students also seem to be pleased that the strikes have ended.

While Conroy said that "the effect of the strikes on students and operations was minimal," several students seem to disagree.

Yale freshman Zachary Turnbull called the strikes "disturbing" and said that he had trouble sleeping because the strikers "were singing right outside my window."

"I thought it was kind of disruptive for freshmen to come into a new area and be distracted by strikes," Turnbull said.

"I think they were an annoyance at best, and at worst, there were strikers who were almost harassing us as we entered the building," Yale freshman Qian Liu said.

Strikers were yelling and cursing at students as they entered academic buildings and "our teacher almost switched our class to an off-campus location" for our safety, according to Liu.

In addition, during the strike, the residential college dining halls had limited service, and most people had to eat in one large dining hall. The university offered rebate checks of $130 per week for those with meal plans, Liu said.

According to Turnbull, this disrupted students' chances to really meet one another, but now everything is open and more "sane."

"The dining hall is part of the whole socializing experience," Liu said. "Missing out on that took away from part of the undergrad experience."

In addition to problems with the university's dining, Yale postponed its freshmen assembly, which has yet to be rescheduled.

Liu said that yesterday was "almost normal" and a lot more peaceful.

The university "seems to be running more smoothly," Turnbull said.

Conroy agreed, saying, "Everything is back to normal."

Under the new contract, Local 34 -- the clerical and technical union -- will receive raises that average 4.5 percent a year, and Local 35 -- the service and maintenance employees -- will receive raises that average 3.5 percent a year, for all eight years.

The contract also includes a new pension formula which increases pensions by 40 percent of what they originally were.

"Wages and pensions are the two major components of the contract," Conroy said.

"The pensions nearly doubled... and wages increased significantly," Meyerson said.

Although Meyerson said that the unions are pleased with the contract, he noted that "any strike is too long" and that this should have been resolved sooner.

"The negotiation went on for over a year and 10 months," he said. "But all is well that ends well."

The university also received some productivity gains from Local 35 which "will help reduce some of the costs of maintaining buildings," according to Conroy.

"We've been constructing some new buildings and renovating some old buildings, and the university decided that if Local 35 was going to be given the work... they would have to agree to some productivity measures."

"Just before the strikes started, there were private meetings between the university and the unions," Conroy said. "Both sides came closer together at that time... and once the strikes began, there wasn't that much distance to go to meet a settlement."

Conroy also noted that the contract's length allows Yale "a good period to work to improve relations with the unions and the workers."

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