Yale and Unions Reach Eight-Year Contracts

Yale University today announced the details of new eight-year contracts with its two largest unions that will provide increased pay and pensions, enhanced job security and improved benefits for all employees.

“These agreements will ensure that Yale has the quality workforce it needs to support its critical educational and research missions,” said University President Richard C. Levin. “Our strong appreciation for the valuable contribution of our 4,000 unionized workers is reflected in the agreements. The unprecedented length of the contracts is a major achievement and will benefit Yale, all the covered employees and the economy of our city and region.”

In addition to the economic components of the contracts, the agreement calls for increased training opportunities for clerical and technical employees and new productivity measures and incentives. “We hope to take advantage of the term of the agreements to establish a new working relationship with our unionized employees that will lead to increased job satisfaction and better rapport and cooperation between the management staff and our unionized employees.”

The tentative agreements with Locals 34 and 35 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees will be effective from January 2002, and workers will immediately receive the raises scheduled for the first two years of the contracts. The third annual increase will come in January 2004. The pacts will run until January 2010. Clerical and technical workers in Local 34 will immediately receive an across-the-board raise of 9%. The across-the-board increases will total 43% by January 2009. For service and maintenance workers in HERE’s Local 35, the immediate across-the-board raise will be over 6%. The total across-the-board increase will be 32% by January 2009.

The agreement ends a strike called by the two unions on August 27. Local 34 represents 3,000 clerical and technical workers and Local 35 represents 1,100 service and maintenance employees. Slightly more than half of the unionized workforce remained on the job during the strike period.

“We are grateful to our employees who came to work during the strike and extremely pleased that all their colleagues will be returning to work,” Levin said. “I am confident that every worker will respect the difficult choice made by his or her colleagues and work together as part of an effective team.”

Levin said that Yale and the City of New Haven had both benefited significantly in recent years from an improved working relationship, and that the University and the unions representing such a large number of its employees should strive for similar progress.

“Yale and its unions eventually reach good contracts, but not without conflict and disruption,” Levin said. “As the many worthwhile initiatives and agreements between the Yale and New Haven demonstrate, better relations are possible, I hope, that with these new eight-year contracts, Yale and its unions can achieve the same.”