Yale and UNITE-HERE extend long-running labor cooperation with new five-year contracts

The new contracts replace the 2013 contracts that are scheduled to expire Jan. 20. It is the third contract in a row achieved without conflict.
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(Photo by Michael Marsland)

Yale University and UNITE HERE announced the ratification on Jan. 18 of new five-year contracts covering employees in Local 34 and Local 35. The new contracts replace the 2013 contracts that are scheduled to expire Jan. 20.

“The new labor agreements with UNITE HERE Locals 35 and 34 ratified this afternoon reflect just how far university-union relations have come in the past decade,” said Vice President of Human Resources and Administration Mike Peel, Yale’s lead negotiator. “This is the third contract in a row achieved without conflict and is the product of extraordinary work contributed by virtually hundreds of managers and union leaders throughout the university over the past year.”  

Key components of the contracts include:

  • Weighted average wage increases of 2.5% per year
  • Changes to healthcare plans that will slow the rate of growth of Yale’s medical expense
  • One-time retirement incentive applicable to those at least 62 years of age with at least 25 years of service
  • Improvements to productivity and service delivery in dining, custodial, and other operations departments
  • Breakthrough new clinical agreement with Local 34 that enhances job security for clinical members, clarifies the boundaries between university jobs and those of Yale-New Haven Hospital staff, and that will enable higher standards of patient care
  • Reduced initial starting rates for new workers

By the time the new agreements expire in 2022, it will be nearly two decades since the last strike in 2003. “I credit this progress to stronger and more effective frontline supervisors throughout the university, enhanced communications between the university and unions,  and the commitment of both university and union leaders to the building of a more collaborative relationship,” said Peel.

In addition to Peel, the other key members of the university negotiations team were Yale Vice President for New Haven and State Affairs & Campus Development Bruce Alexander, Deputy Vice President of Human Resources & Administration Janet Lindner, Vice Provost Stephanie Spangler, and Senior Director of Labor Relations Jane Savage.

“While the actual negotiations for the university were conducted by a small nucleus, the successful outcome would not have been possible without a large team of subject matter experts from Compensation & Benefits, Finance, Law, Investments, Communications, Staff Relations, and other university departments,” said Peel. “It was one of the most impressive team efforts I have seen in my entire career.”

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