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Federation
Headlines
August
2002 - December 02
December
02 | November 02 | October
02 | September
02 | August
02 | July 02 or earlier
December
2002
Who's
Been Naughty & Who's Been Nice - 2002
(New Haven Advocate, 12/26/02)
This year's list includes Maya Lin, Joe Zacagninno, John DeStefano, and
the New Haven Register.
Y-NH
needs good security, but not arrest power it's abused
Op-Ed by Laura Smith (Pres., Local 34) and Anita Seth (Chair, GESO)
(New Haven Register, 12/26/02)
The New Haven Board of Police Commissioners voted 4-1 to revoke Yale-New
Haven Hospital's power of arrest. Mayor John DeStefano Jr. is expected
to make this decision official soon. This is a victory for the rights
of all workers, and our city officials should be commended.
Y-NH
security can function same as always
Letter to Editor by Sarah Saiano
(New Haven Register, 12/26/02)
On the question of the police commission's decision to recommend ending
the right of Yale-New Haven Hospital security officers to arrest people:
It's time for more reason and less hysteria. Police Commissioner Jonathan
Einhorn was right when he called this an "archaic" arrangement and a liability
for the city. Why should anyone without supervision from any duly elected
or appointed representative be given the power to arrest people?
City
sending chilling signal
(New Haven Register Editorial, 12/22/02)
The Board of Aldermen and now the police commissioners have voted to strip
the hospital's police of their arrest powers. The mayor will make the
final decision. The cops' crime? They charged with trespassing union members
who were handing out leaflets on hospital property. The fact that the
city's second largest employer can't seem to get a fair shake from City
Hall should give pause to any employer.
Yale-New
Haven Hospital safety shouldn't rest on politics
Letter to Editor by William Sledge, Master of Calhoun College
(New Haven Register, 12/21/02)
After two evenings of public hearings and what appeared to be a staged
vote, the New Haven police commissioners voted 4-1 to recommend to the
mayor that he remove the police powers of the Yale-New Haven Hospital
security personnel because of a political disagreement. As someone who
has responsibility for the management of services within this hospital,
I think this is an act of bad judgment, the logic of which is elusive.
Emasculation
Proclamation
(New Haven Advocate, 12/19/02)
If you listened to former Alderman Tony Dawson, who makes his living as
a Yale-New Haven police constable, you'd think his family would be sucking
on a a soup bone for Christmas dinner. If you listened to Yale-New Haven
V.P. Marna Borgstrom, Osama himself is coming to get us--and will, if
New Haven doesn't allow her constables to continue arresting people.
Yale's
attitude hurting workers' morale
Letter to Editor by Pamela Clifford
(New Haven Register, 12/16/02)
A few notes to those who don't work at Yale and have read the expensive
full page ads that Yale has been placing in the Register: First, the Yale
bargaining team has been refusing to sit and negotiate with the union
for months. They absolutely have not attempted to end this contract negotiation
nightmare.
Union
drives try to confuse public about Y-NH
Op-Ed by Marna Borgstrom, COO of Yale-New Haven Hospital
(New Haven Register, 12/16/02)
Yale-New Haven Hospital's special constables have served the 40,000 inpatients
and 400,000 outpatients the hospital treats each year, as well as their
families, our employees and medical staff, with distinction for 34 years.
Many are former police officers. Recent union organizing drives have attempted
to paint a repressive picture of Yale-New Haven Hospital and confuse the
public about the corporate structure of this hospital.
Yale
group sues president over crackdown on campus protests
(The University of Maryland Diamondback, 12/13/02)
Yale College students filed charges against the Yale University president
last week in response to an administration they claim is clamping down
on student protests ... Conroy said Levin is not an administrator at Yale
College, the undergraduate school, so the undergraduate regulations do
not apply to him.
To
Student Teachers, Yale Shows No Class
(Hartford Courant, 12/13/02)
There's no asterisk on the tuition bill. There's no footnote on the sheepskin.
Nothing says, "This zillion-dollar education was accomplished on the cheap,
discounts and rebates are available on request." Instead our great institutions
of learning so often charge Volvo prices for teaching delivered at Yugo
rates. And heaven help the hired help who dare complain at Yale, where
there is great concern for the working stiff in so many of the textbooks,
but so little of it in the hearts and minds of the bosses.
Constables'
arrest powers likely to cease
(New Haven Register, 12/12/02)
Concluding three nights of public hearings, the police commission Wednesday
recommended the mayor revoke arrest powers from the Yale-New Haven Hospital
security force.
Police
board votes against arrest powers
(Yale Daily News, 12/12/02)
In a 4-1 decision Wednesday, the New Haven Board of Police Commissioners
approved a resolution of the Board of Aldermen recommending that the Yale-New
Haven Hospital security force be stripped of its power to arrest.
Yale
graduate students lodge labor complaint
(Associated Press, 12/11/02)
A graduate student union complained Tuesday to federal labor regulators
that faculty at Yale University are improperly interfering with their
right to organize.
GESO
files NLRB charges against Yale
(Yale Daily News, 12/11/02)
The Graduate Employees and Students Organization filed unfair labor practice
charges against Yale with the National Labor Relations Board Tuesday.
The charges stemmed from three separate incidents in which faculty members
allegedly "harassed" GESO members who were talking about unionization
issues.
Unions
ask IRS to look into Yale's disclosure policy
(Yale Daily News, 12/11/02)
In a letter to the Internal Revenue Service Tuesday, a representative
from Yale's unions requested that the agency investigate Yale's investment
disclosure policies.
Hospital
police may lose power to arrest
(Yale Daily News, 12/11/02)
Yale-New Haven Hospital security officers will have to wait at least one
more day to see if the Board of Police Commissioners will reccomend that
the officers forfeit their arrest powers.
Hospital
constables lash out
(New Haven Register, 12/11/02)
The troop of Yale-New Haven Hospital constables came to City Hall Tuesday
to defend their jobs. Anthony Griego, a retired New Haven police officer
and two-year member of the hospital security force, dismissed accusations
that constables abused power when arresting eight union organizers in
September for trespassing on hospital property.
Brodhead
responds to charges filed against Levin
(Yale Daily News, 12/11/02)
Yale College Dean Richard Brodhead responded by e-mail Tuesday to charges
76 undergraduates filed against Yale President Richard Levin last week.
Students:
Yale president violated school policies
(Michigan Daily, 12/10/02)
Students at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. are anticipating a formal
response from the school's president, Richard Levin, in response to accusations
by more than 70 students that Levin violated and misrepresented the school's
bylaws. Levin was also accused of engaging in "physical restriction, intimidation,
and coercion of students for their advocacy of unpopular views." If he
is found guilty of the allegations, he could face expulsion from the school,
students filing the complaints said.
Only
actual change: no more paper work
(New Haven Register, 12/10/02)
Some citizens seem to believe the recommendation by the Board of Aldermen
to remove the arrest powers of the Yale-New Haven Hospital constabulary
will compromise safety at the hospital. This couldn't be further from
the truth, as the recommendation in no way impairs hospital security in
fulfillment their duties.
Jobs
of Y-NH police portrayed negatively
(New Haven Register, 12/10/02)
I am a constable at Yale-New Haven Hospital and over the past weeks many
articles have negatively portrayed our role in performing our duties.
GESO
says faculty broke law
In letter to administration, GESO alleges three cases of faculty intimidation
(Yale Daily News, 12/6/02)
The Graduate Employees and Students Organization delivered a letter to
Yale President Richard Levin Thursday outlining specific instances of
faculty behavior that they believe violate federal labor law.
Read GESO's letter to Levin
Student-Activists
May Expel Yale President
(UConn Daily Campus, 12/6/02)
Seventy-six undergraduate students at Yale University filed formal charges
against Yale President Richard Levin Thursday, claiming he violated university
bylaws in his treatment of students, particularly those exercising their
freedom of speech right. If Levin is convicted by the University Tribunal,
he could face suspension or expulsion, a press release by the Undergraduate
Organizing Committee states.
Yale
President Pleads 5th When Confronted with Violating University Regulations
(Brown Daily Herald, 12/6/02)
Yale University President Richard Levin refused to talk with a coalition
of 76 Yale undergraduates who charged him with violating the school’s
Undergraduate Regulations on free speech and community relations Thursday.
Yale
students protest Levin
The allegations focus on the university president's lack of a cooperative
student relationship
(Daily Pennsylvanian, 12/6/02)
A group of Yale undergraduates has accused the university's president,
Richard Levin, of violating the school's bylaws, claiming that he misrepresented
an official document and failed to protect free speech.
Levin
himself is violating a number of Yale policies
By Zach Schwartz-Weinstein
(Yale Daily News, 12/6/02)
On Thursday 76 undergraduates, increasingly concerned with the crisis
taking shape on our campus, filed formal complaints against President
Richard Levin under the Dean's Procedure for Student Complaints. We have
charged President Levin with four violations of the University's Regulations...
Union
group files charges against Levin
(Yale Daily News, 12/6/02)
Seventy-six students filed charges against Yale President Richard Levin
Thursday, alleging that he violated the Yale College Undergraduate Regulations.
About 40 members of the Undergraduate Organizing Committee, a student
group aligned with Yale's unions, brought the charges to the Yale College
Dean's Office Thursday afternoon and then brought letters about the charges
to Levin's office.
Yale
student group brings anti-free speech charges against U. president
(Brown Daily Herald, 12/5/02)
A coalition of Yale University undergraduates will charge Yale President
Richard Levin today with violating the school’s Undergraduate Regulations
on free speech and community relations.
View
from City Hall
(New Haven Advocate, 12/4/02)
Sometimes elected officials agonize over decisions. Especially before
they take on powerful institutions. Then there are questions like: Should
New Haven strip Yale-New Haven Hospital's security force of its guns and
arrest power? New Haven Mayor John DeStefano didn't need to engage in
any Hamlet-like balancing of arguments on that one. He came out publicly
last week in favor of the idea. "It was a clear choice," he said. "This
is just an issue of them abusing their authority."
Labor
talks to resume
(Yale Daily News, 12/4/02)
University and union negotiators will meet next Friday for the first full-table
bargaining sessions since early October. Leaders announced that they will
resume discussions of wages, benefits and several other noneconomic issues
in the coming weeks.
State
will not pursue charges against labor leafleters
Despite decision, unions still concerned about arrest power
(Yale Daily News, 12/2/02)
The state of Connecticut dropped its charges Nov. 22 against eight union
supporters who were arrested in September for leafleting outside Yale-New
Haven Hospital buildings.
Arrests
at Hospital Over Union Flyers
(Yale Alumni Magazine, December 2002)
As a seeming stalemate between the University and union locals 34 and
35 continued during the fall, a labor dispute at Yale-New Haven Hospital
heated up after eight union supporters were arrested by hospital police
while passing out flyers. The Federation of Hospital and University Employees
responded in October by filing a protest with the National Labor Relations
Board (NLRB).
Union
Blog Keeps Eye on Yale
(Yale Alumni Magazine, December 2002)
Yale unions have launched another offensive in their public-relations
battle with the University. The Web site yaleinsider.org,
launched last year by the Federation of Hospital and University Employees,
now has a weblog linking to and commenting on Yale-related items in the
press.
November
2002
True
Yale 'thank you' is fair settlement
Letter from Angela Vigent
(New Haven Register, 11/27/02)
What could the unionized workers of Yale University possibly want? That
has to be the question on everyone's mind after reading the "Yale Says
Thank You" advertisement in the Nov. 20 Register ... If I didn't work
there, I would be asking the same question. However, for the past 23 years
I have worked there.
Black
and Blue
How David Lee Stands Still to Conquer
(The New Journal, November 2002)
Today's sermon is on the burden of hopelessness. To begin, the Reverend
Dr. W. David Lee--pastor of New Haven's most distinguished and most ancient
black congregation, Varick Memorial ame Zion Church; graduate of Syracuse
University, Yale Divinity School, and Union Theological Seminary; and
most recently a candidate for a seat on the Yale Corporatio--quotes not
from psalms or prophets, but from the early hip-hop innovator Grandmaster
Flash.
Constable
issue still unresolved
(New Haven Register, 11/26/02)
A decision has yet to be made as to whether the city's police commission
will strip hospital constables of their arrest powers. During a special
meeting Monday night, the panel convened at police headquarters to hear
testimony ... Mayor John DeStefano Jr., who appoints the police commission,
said before the meeting that he backs revocation of the constables' arrest
powers, calling the collars an "inordinate management abuse of the power
we extend to them."
Campus
Insider
(The Boston Globe, 11/24/02)
Members of employee unions at Yale, where labor relations are also quite
bitter, planned to leaflet and protest at The Game, yesterday's 119th
football matchup between Harvard and Yale. Among other things, the Yale
unions poked management in the eye by contrasting Yale's labor record
unfavorably to Fair Harvard's. Among the details: The maximum clerical
wage at Harvard is $30.42, versus $19.35 at Yale, the union says.
State
drops trespassing charges against 8
(New Haven Register, 11/23/02)
The state's attorney's office Friday dropped trespassing charges against
eight Yale University employees arrested in September while handing out
pro-union pamphlets at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Charges
dropped against unions members for leafleting
(Associated Press, 11/23/02)
Prosecutors Friday dropped trespassing charges against eight Yale University
workers who had distributed union leaflets at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Union
rally draws crowd to Beinecke
(Yale Daily News, 11/22/02)
Chanting "no contracts, no peace" and holding signs depicting two-faced
images of Yale President Richard Levin, approximately 1,500 union members
gathered outside Levin's office Thursday to deliver a petition supporting
union concerns.
Yale
Union Stages Protest
(Hartford Courant, 11/22/02)
They came in yellow school buses, wore paper masks of Yale President Richard
Levin and chanted "no contract, no peace." With their contract deadline
quickly approaching, hundreds of Yale union workers crowded outside Levin's
office Thursday to call for a better deal.
Unions
have doubts
(New Haven Register, 11/22/02)
Anne Richardson is no accountant, but by her calculations Yale UniversityÕs
publicized contract offer to organized laborers reeks of "fancy financing."
For the administrative assistant at Yale University Press, those 42 percent
raises over 6 years touted in full-page newspaper ads amount to public
relations.
Safety
must be paramount at hospital
(Yale Daily News Editorial, 11/22/02)
On Monday, the Board of Aldermen narrowly passed a resolution recommending
New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. and the Board of Police Commissioners
revoke the arrest powers of Yale-New Haven Hospital security guards. The
proposal, drafted by Ward 1 Alderman Ben Healey '04, comes after the unions
filed a formal charge with the National Labor Review Board in October
for the September arrests of union leafleters. It also urges the hospital
to drop all charges against those arrested.
Arrest
powers not without precedent
Examples of other hospital security policies provide context for debate
(Yale Daily News, 11/22/02)
While city officials consider revoking the arrest powers of the Yale-New
Haven Hospital security force, hospitals around the country grant varying
amount of authority to their police officers seemingly without issue.
At a public hearing on Oct. 28, aldermen and concerned citizens alike
sounded off on the contentious issue, calling the arrests "an injustice,"
"ridiculous" and "an abuse of power."
NLRB
says Penn grad students are employees
(Yale Daily News, 11/22/02)
After filing for a union election last December, graduate students at
the University of Pennsylvania won a ruling Thursday that will allow them
to hold elections on whether to unionize.
Yale
unions take unprecedented effort in contract talks
(Associated Press, 11/21/02)
Labor unions at Yale University are taking an unprecedented, Ivy League-style
approach to contract negotiations this year ... On Thursday, one union
held a traditional rally in front of the office of university President
Richard Levin, but with a twist: workers wore masks with two superimposed
images of Levin's smiling visage, to imply that Levin is "two-faced" in
contract talks.
Yale-New
Haven Hospital cops' actions expose city legally
(New Haven Register, 11/21/02)
Letter by Jorge Perez, President of New Haven Board of Aldermen
I feel compelled to counter the one-sided representations conveyed in
the editorial "Arrests proper at hospital." ... The critical issue is
the highly inappropriate manner in which the hospital security force,
the sole constabulary force in New Haven, exercised the unique arrest
powers granted it.
From
Bulldog to Fat Cat
Memo reveals how Yale's board would fit right in on Wall Street
(New Haven Advocate, 11/21/02)
Those poor CEOs. What will they do with all that money and all those perks?
That question--usually prompted by the exposŽ-du-jour of run-amok Fortune
500 companies--arose last week in a different corner, the not-for-profit
world. The big not-for-profit world. Yale University.
Students
gather for speakout in Woolsey rotunda
(Yale Daily News, 11/21/02)
They belonged to groups ranging from the Yale Coalition for Peace to the
Yale Political Union, but the 45 students forming a large circle in the
Woolsey Hall rotunda Wednesday night all said they had one thing in common:
They wanted to speak, and they wanted someone to listen.
Would
Richard Levin lie to you, honey?
(Yale Daily News, 11/21/02)
My father always told me that the most important commandment was "Honor
thy mother and thy father." Second was "Thou shalt not bear false witness."
He was onto something.
Pensions
play big role in contract dispute
(Yale Daily News, 11/20/02)
Lois Jason worked as a secretary at the Yale School of Medicine and the
University's Cowles Foundation. But since retiring nine years ago, Jason
said she has become an "economist." Jason said she, like many retired
Yale workers, carefully counts her spending because of the size of her
Yale pension.
Board
says revoke Yale-New Haven Hospital arrest powers
(New Haven Register, 11/19/02)
The Board of Aldermen Monday passed a resolution urging the mayor and
the Board of Police Commissioners to revoke the arrest powers of Yale-New
Haven Hospital constables. More than 130 people observed the 18-8-2 vote.
Aldermen
call for end to arrest power
Resolution recommends that hospital security officers be stripped of power
to arrest
(Yale Daily News, 11/19/02)
The New Haven Board of Aldermen narrowly passed a resolution Monday night
recommending that the arrest-making powers of Yale-New Haven Hospital
security officers be revoked. The resolution was drafted in response to
the September arrests of union supporters -- six Yale employees and two
graduate students -- who were leafleting on the hospital's grounds. Carried
by a vote of 18-8, with a 16-person majority required, the resolution
will be forwarded to Mayor John DeStefano Jr. and the Board of Police
Commissioners, who have final say over the policy.
Resolution
backs limiting power of hospital constables
(Associated Press, 11/19/02)
The city's aldermen have approved a resolution calling on the police commission
to revoke the arrest powers of Yale-New Haven Hospital constables.
Harvard
Paid President Less Than Most Ivies
Chronicle of Higher Education says Harvard is in Bottom Half of League
(Harvard Crimson, 11/19/02)
HarvardÕs former president, Neil L. Rudenstine, earned a salary of $387,591
in his last full year in office, placing his pay in the bottom half of
Ivy League presidential salaries, according to the survey.
Levin's
salary 7th highest, study says
(Yale Daily News, 11/18/02)
Yale President Richard Levin was the seventh-highest-paid private university
president in the nation during the 2001 fiscal year, according to a study
by the Chronicle of Higher Education released this week.
Hospital
employees appeal to trustee
(Yale Daily News, 11/18/02)
With chants and leaflets urging unionization, approximately 50 Yale-New
Haven Hospital workers rallied outside the downtown office of a hospital
Board of Trustees member Friday afternoon, union spokeswoman Deborah Chernoff
said. The workers attempted to visit hospital board member Nat Woodson,
president and CEO of United Illuminating, at his office on Church Street.
Union
staff was not leafleting at Y-NH
(New Haven Register, 11/17/02)
Letter by Laura Smith and Anita Seth
The editorial on the arrests at Yale-New Haven Hospital begins "The facts
arenÕt in dispute." However, the editorial repeatedly misstates a number
of the facts.
College
administrators getting richer
(New Haven Register, 11/17/02)
More private college administrators than ever are earning salaries over
the half million mark, a new study shows ... Yale University President
Richard C. Levin was the seventh highest paid in the country, with a 2001
income of $612,453, which includes salary and benefits. Yale trustees
are considering increasing LevinÕs pension from 47 percent of his salary
to 75 percent. This proposed increase is spelled out in an Oct. 21 internal
memo from Yale trustee John Pepper Jr.
Survey
Shows 27 Presidents of Colleges Top $500,000
(New York Times, 11/17/02)
Although academia is not traditionally known for high salaries, 27 private
college presidents earned more than $500,000 last year, a survey by The
Chronicle of Higher Education shows. The survey of 595 private colleges
found that the median pay for the presidents of research universities
increased 30 percent from the 1997 fiscal year to the 2001 fiscal year.
Unions
Push for Disclosure at Yale
(Yale Herald, 11/15/02)
The Federation of Hospital and University Employees has recently increased
pressure on the University to disclose details concerning its investments
by asking Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, LAW '73, to
join the cause.
Faculty
casualization: detour on the track to tenure
Does the rise in the number of non-tenured faculty come at a cost?
(Yale Herald, 11/15/02)
Earlier this year, the American Council on Education Center for Policy
Analysis released a report called "The New Professoriate," which documented
the growing numbers of non-ladder or non-tenure track faculty at universities
around the country. This "casualization" of the faculty means that these
faculty members, who do not have job security and are generally paid less
than their tenured counterparts, are replacing tenured faculty, a trend
that has aroused concern within the academic community. Yale is no exception
to this trend.
Back
to the old way for Yale and unions
(Yale Daily News Editorial, 11/15/02)
To the dismay of union leaders, Yale will begin subcontracting work in
the newly opening Congress Avenue Building next week rather than use Local
35 members for the job. Union leaders have taken the move as a sign of
aggression from the University and said it will further complicate stalled
contract negotiations.
Tensions
rise over contracts at new facility
(Yale Daily News, 11/14/02)
Yale will begin subcontracting service and maintenance work in a new research
building near the School of Medicine next week, angering union leaders
who said it could set back contract talks and intensify tensions between
Yale and the unions.
Unions
picket Levin alumni presentation
(Yale Daily News, 11/13/02)
Approximately 80 union members and supporters staged a rain-drenched demonstration
outside the New Haven Lawn Club Tuesday evening as Yale President Richard
Levin addressed an alumni reception sponsored by the Yale Club of New
Haven.
Silent
walk supports negotiations process
(Yale Daily News, 11/13/02)
Amidst increasingly contentious labor negotiations between Yale and its
two largest unions, locals 34 and 35, the Yale Religious Ministry and
the University Chaplain's Office held a silent walk Tuesday to demonstrate
support for the negotiation process and those affected by it.
Levin
may see larger pension
Corporation plan would raise Levin's retirement if he stays through 2008
(Yale Daily News, 11/13/02)
In an Oct. 21 memo to two members of the Yale Corporation, Senior Fellow
John Pepper '60 proposed increasing President Richard Levin's pension
plan to provide him with roughly 75 percent of his annual salary each
year after he retires. Pepper said his proposal was contingent on Levin
remaining president until at least June 30, 2008.
Yale
prez's perks spur labor pains
(New York Daily News, 11/12/02)
The trustees at the Yale Corp. are so worried about hanging onto Levin
that they are considering a proposal that would increase his pension to
75% of his base pay from 47% ... The proposed hike is spelled out in an
Oct. 21 internal memo from Yale trustee John Pepper Jr., chairman of Procter
& Gamble Co., to two fellow trustees.
Labor
tiff heads to Midwest
Protesters distribute leaflets at Levin speeches for Chicago, Detroit,
Minneapolis alumni
(Yale Daily News, 11/11/02)
Unhappy with the recent arrests of Yale union supporters, several protesters
met President Richard Levin this weekend at alumni receptions in three
midwestern cities. Local HERE and SEIU members stood outside receptions
in Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit, Yale union leaders said. The union
members distributed two leaflets that contended Yale officials violated
free speech when union supporters were arrested or detained in the last
two months.
Yale
urged to boost disclosure
(The Daily Deal, 11/8/02)
Advocates for more openness about private equity and venture capital investments
are pressing their cases on three fronts this month, from Sacramento to
Boston. But in one of the most prominent fights over the issue, the Yale
University Endowment fund appears to make no concessions to public pressures
... And the unions now have the support from Connecticut Attorney General
Richard Blumenthal.
Sparks
fly at open forum
Students drill Levin on labor, investments
(Yale Daily News, 11/8/02)
A question-and-answer forum with President Richard Levin devolved Thursday
night into a contentious dispute between Levin and nearly 200 students
armed with questions about campus labor issues and other controversial
topics.
US
in Denial as Poverty Rises
Next door to Yale, the bastion of privilege that turns out the land's
leaders, lies a tent city of America's poor, huddled masses. Ed Vulliamy
reports on the rise in inequality as the nation prepares to vote
(Guardian Observer
UK, Front Page, Sunday, 11/3/02)
The north wind cuts cold and sudden across the historic green of New Haven.
It blows through the 'tent city' where the homeless huddle. And it blows
round the spires and quadrangles of Yale University, one of America's
richest Ivy League colleges. The contrast is stark: Charlene Johnson,
three months pregnant, emerges from her bivouac, worrying about the winter
that lies between her and her due date. And all around are Yale's stone
walls, elegant colonial churches and smart people walking past boutiques
and coffee shops, carrying their course books.
Yale
scrutinized in wake of hospital embarassment
(Yale Herald, 11/1/02)
On Monday, questions concerning the future of the Yale-New Haven Hospital
(YNHH) surgical residency program were put to rest ... However, according
to University President Richard Levin, GRD '74, this seemingly recent
crisis at YNHH "is old news, it goes back to the springÑthis week a misleading
headline in the Daily News suggested there was a current crisis."
Rhomberg
Discusses GESO's Prospects
(Yale Herald, 11/1/02)
Christopher Rhomberg, an assistant professor of sociology, teaches a course
called Labor Relations in the United States. In the 1990s, Rhomberg was
actively involved in the organization of the graduate students' union
at the University of California.
October
2002
Unions
File Unfair Labor Charges against Yale hospital
(New York Newsday / AP Wire, 10/31/02)
A coalition of labor unions representing Yale-New Haven Hospital workers
has accused the hospital of unfair labor practices in the arrests of eight
activists who were distributing leaflets. The Federation of Hospital and
University Employees on Monday filed a complaint with the National Labor
Relations Board, alleging that the hospital with the knowledge of Yale
University threatened and coerced employees for leafleting.
Unions
file NLRB charges over arrests
Leaders file unfair labor practice complaints with NLRB over September
arrests
(Yale Daily News, 10/31/02)
Union leaders filed a formal complaint with the National Labor Relations
Board Monday, alleging that administrators at Yale-New Haven Hospital
violated federal labor laws. The unfair labor practice charges stemmed
from three separate incidents last month in which hospital workers, Yale
employees and graduate students were arrested by hospital police while
distributing information on unionization outside hospital buildings.
Y-NH
accused of trying to hinder union drive
(New Haven Register, 10/31/02)
The Federation of Hospital and University Employees filed a charge Monday
with the National Labor Relations Board accusing Yale-New Haven Hospital
of unfair labor practices. "Yale is trying to scare workers from talking
about the union," said Adam Manning, one of eight university employees
arrested by hospital constables while handing out union pamphlets last
month.
City
panel wants no arrest powers for Y-NH guards
(New Haven Register, 10/29/02)
An Aldermanic committee urged the city Monday to rescind the arresting
powers held by security constables at Yale-New Haven Hospital after guards
arrested eight union activists handing out leaflets on hospital property
last month.
Aldermen
call for end to arrest power
(Yale Daily News, 10/29/02)
A committee of the New Haven Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a
resolution Monday night that recomends stripping Yale-New Haven Hospital
security officers of their power to make arrests. The resolution, authored
by Ward 1 Alderman Ben Healey '04, follows the arrests in September of
union leafletters who were working on the grounds of the hospital.
Hospital
cops could lose arrest power
(New Haven Register, 10/26/02)
If he looks like a cop, acts like a cop and talks like a cop, is he a
cop? Usually, unless he carries a gun and a badge at Yale-New Haven Hospital,
where he's a constable.
Talks
now would be 'fruitless,' mediator says
(Yale Daily News, 10/25/02)
Eight months after the expiration of Yale workers' union contracts, union
and University leaders have not negotiated for the past three weeks and
have no more bargaining sessions planned, Yale spokesman Tom Conroy said
Thursday.
GESO
is ready for a dialogue -- so why isn't the Yale administration?
(Yale Daily News LTE, 10/24/02)
Tuesday's vote on graduate employee unionization at Cornell University
puts into relief the Yale administration's continuing intransigence. Yale
President Richard Levin and the Yale administration have now ignored or
declined four formal requests from the members of the Graduate Employees
and Students Organization to start a dialogue.
The
nearly impossible task of following Yale's money
(Yale Daily News, 10/24/02)
Every shout for divestment is followed by a modest plea for information,
please, at the very least. Even those who argue that Yale cannot "afford"
to be a socially responsible investor must agree that there are investments
so heinous and deleterious that Yale ought to wash its hands of them to
damage the odious institutions as well as to take a moral stand. But without
the information, how can we know where to begin?
Zaccagnino's
Posse:
Yale-New Haven Hospital's cops' stinkin' badges
(New Haven Advocate, 10/24/02)
Joe Zaccagnino has decided his job includes running a posse. Maybe the
$1 million-plus-a-year CEO should spend more time trying to run the beleaguered
Yale-New Haven Hospital instead.
Something
Ventured:
VCs Wince At New Texas Openness
(Dow Jones Newswire, 10/23/02)
The investment arm for Texas' $13.3 billion university endowment jolted
the traditionally closed-door venture capital industry this month with
the abrupt disclosure of individual financial returns for nearly 150 private
equity funds in which it has invested ... Also, at Yale University in
New Haven, Conn., members of a union group are hoping Texas will serve
as a precedent to obtain similar information about Yale's $10.5 billion
endowment.
Yale,
GESO: take a lesson from Cornell
(Yale Daily News Editorial, 10/23/02)
Beginning today, graduate students at Cornell will cast ballots in a National
Labor Relations Board-sanctioned election to determine if they will be
represented by a union. In doing so, they will be participating in the
first orderly, peaceful and efficient process for settling what has become
one of the most volatile issues in academia.
Cornell
grad students to vote on union
If effort is successful, grad student union would be second-ever at a
private U.S. university
(Yale Daily News, 10/23/02)
Graduate students at Cornell University will decide today and tomorrow
whether to form a graduate student union. If a majority of the school's
2,317 eligible graduate teaching and research assistants vote in favor
of the proposal, the union would be the second-ever of its kind at a private
university.
Activists
try to dig up Ivy League investments
(Financial Times, 10/21/02)
The big US "Ivy League" universities, such as Harvard and Yale, are learning
a tough new lesson - not only do they have to record a decent return,
but they also have to be transparent about it.
Union
rally supports arrestees
(Yale Daily News, 10/21/02)
Approximately 40 union supporters stood in front of the state courthouse
Friday morning in a show of support for two graduate student researchers,
who were arrested last month outside Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Levin's
anti-union letters skew the debate
(Yale Daily News, 10/18/02)
Along with everyone else at Yale, I have received two letters since the
beginning of the school year -- one from Yale President Richard Levin's
office and one from the Office of Public Affairs -- explaining the University's
position on its negotiations with its workers' unions. I have been carrying
these letters around for a month and a half because they bother me so
much that I cannot bring myself to throw them away.
Removing
posters affront to free speech
(Yale Herald, 10/18/02)
In the last ten days, two disturbing incidents threatening free speech
have taken place on campus. In the first incident, the police detained
students distributing pro-union literature at Dean Richard Brodhead's,
BR '68, GRD '72, parents' weekend speech.
Union
contracts extended, action still likely
(Yale Herald, 10/18/02)
According to sources in Locals 34 and 35, a possible walkout or other
action is in the works for the week of Nov. 24, 2002. Virginia Harris,
a Local 34 executive board member and University employee, confirmed that
the action "will be a direct response to where [the unions] stand in negotiations."
However, she stressed, "The nature of the event has not yet been determined,
[pending discussions] amongst the members."
Labor
teach-in targets undergrads
Panel of speakers discusses September arrests
(Yale Daily News, 10/18/02)
Undergraduates, labor experts and union organizers spoke at a teach-in
on labor issues in Linsly-Chittenden Hall before approximately 25 students
Thursday night.
Organized
Crime
How a seemingly ineffective union demonstration turned a disparate workforce
into a unified bloc
(The New Journal, October 2002)
In the days before 675 people were arrested on College Street, New Haven's
labor unions prepared for action. At the First Methodist Church, 100 students,
workers, and interested community members listened to the instructions
of Steve Thornton ... At the moment when 675 people linked arms on College
Street, the most important point may have gone unstated: The unions are
ready for a strike.
Pro-union
undergrads protest arrests at Yale
(Brown Daily Herald, 10/17/02)
Thirty-five pro-union undergraduates surprised Yale University President
Richard Levin outside his office Tuesday with a short demonstration calling
attention to the arrests of 67 students at a Sept. 25 civil disobedience
staged by a coalition of Yale’s employee unions.
Grad
Union Vote Could Alter U.S. College Climate
(Cornell Daily Sun, 10/17/02)
Cornell's graduate student representation election on Oct. 23 and 24 could
be a key turning point in the two-year explosion of unionization at private
universities. It is hard to tell whether the movement is picking up pace
or stagnating.
Contracts
extended by one month
Contracts were automatically renewed despite rumors of a Nov. strike;
talks continue
(Yale Daily News, 10/17/02)
The contracts for members of Yale's two largest unions were extended for
another month Wednesday, despite rumors of a November strike. Because
the deadline to cancel contracts passed Wednesday, the contracts for locals
34 and 35 have been automatically renewed through Nov. 30. The contracts
contain "no strike, no lockout" clauses, which prohibit job actions while
the contracts are in effect.
UOC
calls for response from Levin
Students demonstrate at YCC meeting, demand time with Levin to discuss
recent arrests
(Yale Daily News, 10/16/02)
Members of an undergraduate pro-union group, unhappy with the recent arrests
and detentions of union sympathizers, gave University President Richard
Levin several bright orange fliers at Yale College Council meeting Tuesday.
GET-UP
files charges against University
The charges allege two separate threats to reclassify graduate students,
which could alter their tax status
(Daily Pennsylvanian, 10/15/02)
Graduate Employees Together-University of Pennsylvania, in association
with the American Federation of Teachers, filed two unfair labor practice
charges against the University last week. The charges were filed with
the National Labor Relations Board reporting two separate threats to reclassify
the status of graduate students, thereby changing their tax status, and
the withholding of regular stipend increases for graduate students.
Yale
stifled freedom of speech during Parents' Weekend
(Yale Daily News, 10/15/02)
Over the weekend, while parents and students attended panels and lectures
on education and life at Yale, we learned a different -- and much more
discouraging -- lesson about our academic community. Before Dean Brodhead's
Saturday morning panel on "Education in Yale College," we were detained
by Yale police for peacefully distributing information to parents in the
Woolsey rotunda. Despite the fact Yale's Freedom of Expression policy
protects the distribution of leaflets, we were told by police and University
administrators that our presence constituted a violation of University
law, punishable by arrest.
Union
supporters leaflet at Parents' Weekend panel
(Yale Daily News, 10/14/02)
As Yale parents arrived on campus to learn about college life this weekend,
several union members, retired Yale workers, and undergraduates tried
to make sure the parents learned something about the University's labor
relations as well.
Two-day
strike begins at five UC campuses
Lecturers, clerical workers' walkout affects classes
(San Bernadino County Sun, 10/14/02)
Shouts of "Union power!' punctured the halls of academia Monday as lecturers
and clerical staff went on strike at UC Riverside, charging the university
with unfair labor practices. Many teaching assistants and tutors refused
to cross picket lines Monday as the American Federation of Teachers, representing
temporary faculty members, and the Coalition of University Employees,
representing clerical workers, started a two-day strike at five University
of California campuses.
Federal
labor mediator meets with Yale unions
(Yale Daily News, 10/11/02)
Union leaders met Thursday with Joseph Dubin, the federal mediator that
the University called in last week to moderate contract talks between
Yale and its unions.
Battle
Lines Redrawn
How Yale's great labor peace experiment collapsed
(New Haven Advocate, 10/10/02)
A great peace experiment was supposed to blossom right about now on New
Haven's most contentious labor battlefield. It all began with a walk in
the woods. Or a walk on the Green, actually. But you could call it a proverbial
walk in the woods--as in the 1982 walk that the chief American and Soviet
arms-control negotiators took amid the trees of Geneva. They resolved
on that walk to overcome generations of hostility, of opposing world views.
They came up with a proposal for disarmament. They learned how to talk.
Federal
mediator to meet with unions
Tension over mediator's presence further stalls labor negotiations
(Yale Daily News, 10/9/02)
The federal mediator Yale called in last week to monitor labor negotiations
will meet with union leaders Thursday rather than working with both sides
today as originally planned.
Board
opposes arrest powers
Aldermen call for ban on hospital security arrest power
(Yale Daily News, 10/8/02)
Following the recent arrests of union pamphleteers at Yale-New Haven Hospital,
several members of the city's Board of Aldermen are backing a move to
strip the hospital's security guards of their power of arrest.
Big
Investors Push for More Disclosure From Venture Firms
(New York Times, 10/8/02)
Stung by accounting scandals, institutional investors in several states
are pushing for greater transparency and disclosure not just from public
companies, but from private equity and venture capital firms, which have
long operated outside the public eye. On Friday, the University of Texas
published the financial performance of all its investments Ñ including
venture capital funds. The disclosure came over the fierce objection of
some of the venture capitalists, with whom the university signed confidentiality
agreements promising not to disclose the figures.
Yale
endowment fund under fire over 'secret' investments
(Financial Times, 10/4/02)
Yale University's $10.5bn endowment fund, the second biggest after Harvard,
achieved a modest return in fiscal 2002, when most endowments were expected
to report negative returns as the market tumbled. But not everyone is
pleased with Yale's investments. A report by unions at Yale, released
this week, says the college's investments are "shrouded in secrecy" and
"out of sync with Yale's internal investment policies".
Federal
mediator will monitor talks
(Yale Daily News, 10/4/02)
Yale leaders announced Thursday that they will bring in a federal mediator
to oversee the University's contract talks with its two largest unions.
Eight months after negotiations began, the University hopes to bring in
Joseph Dubin, a mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
(FMCS). Union leaders disagreed with the decision, saying they hoped to
bring back the labor-management consultant the two sides worked with at
the beginning of bargaining.
Hospital
arrests aggravate Yale-union tension
As arrestees face prosecution, University distances itself from hospital
clash
(Yale Herald, 10/4/02)
When eight Yale University employees were arrested last month for disobeying
police orders to disperse outside Yale-New Haven Hospital, Yale's unions
and the city of New Haven were incensed. The employees, members of Local
34 and the Graduate Employees and Students Organization (GESO), were distributing
union information outside the hospital.
Bulldog
Sell-Out & Why Yale supporters got "arrested"
(New Haven Advocate, 10/3/02)
National news happened in New Haven last week. It made The New York Times.
It made the front page of the Hartford Courant. It even made the New Haven
Register--on page three. Well, there was this sculpture controversy in
Madison that was bigger news for page one ... so the national news--the
arrests of 675 people in a protest over the labor practices of one of
the world's great universities, Yale--had to run inside.
How
Yale Demeans Itself
(Hartford Courant, 10/2/02)
Yale President Richard C. Levin's last pay raise of $50,000 was larger
than the annual pay of just about any member of the union locals he is
fighting over what would be, to him, peanuts. You might not lose a lot
of time thinking that this odd, old world of ours is a fair place.
Panel
discusses race and unions
(Yale Daily News, 10/2/02)
Labor experts and union organizers discussed the complicated history of
race and ethnicity in organized labor before about 35 students at the
Asian American Cultural Center Tuesday night.
September
2002
Frustrated
unions turn to civil protest
Hundreds show up, but University says protest had no effect on negotiations
(Yale Herald, 9/27/02)
At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Cross Campus was relatively quiet. Students
clustered together in small groups, professors walked out of buildings,
finished with classes for the day, and people hurried in and out of the
library. But only one block away, at the intersection of College and Elm
Streets, there was a much different scene. Police were already directing
traffic at the partially barricaded intersection, where a large crowd
of people had gathered. In moments they would watch as approximately 800
people were arrested in what New Haven Police reported as the largest
mass arrest in Connecticut history.
Yale
pays to pollute New Haven's waters
(Yale Herald, 9/27/02)
Despite fines from the New Haven Water Pollution Authority (NHWPA), Yale
regularly dumps hundreds of pounds of dining hall scraps into the city
sewer system. Though environmentally-friendly alternatives exist, Yale
has opted for more cost effective fines.
State,
not city, will net fines from union rally arrests
(New Haven Register, 9/28/02)
A total of 675 people were fined Wednesday for the orderly scripted rally
that shut down College and Elm streets, according to Capt. Stephen Verrelli
... But since protesters were charged only with infractions under state
statute, all fines will be channeled to a centralized infractions bureau
of the state judicial branch, which operates the court system.
Undervalued
Yale Service Workers Making Do
(Hartford Courant, 9/27/02)
What moved Vilma Moreno the most in New Haven Wednesday was the large
number of Yale supervisors willing to be arrested as they stood up for
unionized workers. As for herself, an arrest record and fine was a luxury
Moreno said she just couldn't afford, as an administrative assistant at
the medical school. Instead, Moreno, her husband, Anthony, and their 4-year-old
son, Joshua, watched the choreographed mass protest on College Street.
Civil
disobedience preserves Dr. King's legacy
(Yale Daily News, 9/27/02, Op-Ed by Tavia Nyong'o)
The hit movie "Barbershop" has drawn fire from the likes of the Rev. Jesse
Jackson Sr. for its disrespectful treatment of Martin Luther King Jr.
and Rosa Parks, two icons of the civil rights movement. But whatever disrespect
the movie shows pales in comparison to the outright manipulation of King's
memory by the American right wing. Justin Zaremby's column ("Union plan
disgraces MLK," 9/24) criticizing the recent act of civil disobedience
is only the latest example of a sustained right-wing effort to distort
the legacy of King and the civil rights movement.
Why
we got arrested
(Yale Daily News, 9/27/02, LTE by Jon Zerolnik '96 and Katie Unger '98)
Referring to the massive act of civil disobedience on Wednesday, you wrote
of the "union members and supporters" who were present. The masses of
"supporters" were students, community members, alumni -- each with a reason
for joining and each with a stake in a just settlement. We are writing
to explain why we two individuals, both of us alumni, chose to travel
to New Haven and get arrested this week.
Corporation
meets amid labor tension
New senior fellow Pepper '60 to preside over first meeting of academic
year
(Yale Daily News, 9/27/02)
The Yale Corporation, the University's highest policy-making body, convenes
on campus this weekend for its first meeting of the academic year, under
new leadership and with new fellows.
800
Yale Workers and Students Are Arrested at Protest
(The New York Times, 9/26/02)
The city police arrested about 800 well-behaved Yale University students,
employees, union members and their supporters early this evening after
they clogged a popular downtown street to protest the university's relations
with its workers.
Hundreds
Arrested At Peaceful Yale Demonstration
(Hartford Courant, 9/26/02)
It's hard to call Wednesday night's tightly scripted mass demonstration
by Yale's unions an act of civil disobedience. It went too well. There
were too many smiling cops.
Unions
engage in civil disobedience
Hundreds arrested after blocking traffic
(Yale Daily News, 9/26/02)
Nearly 800 union members and supporters locked arms and blocked access
to College Street yesterday afternoon as part of a planned act of civil
disobedience. Union supporters wearing "Stand up for change at Yale" signs
lined the street as the demonstrators defied police warnings and were
eventually arrested for creating a public disturbance.
700
arrested as Yale union stages protest
(New Haven Register, 9/26/02)
NEW HAVEN Ñ The announcement met with applause from union supporters lining
College Street as police, on cue, told roughly 700 protesters that they
were under arrest for obstructing a city street.
Yale
U. Workers Block Traffic in Large Protest Over Contract Talks
(The Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/26/02)
Yale University workers, bolstered by hundreds of supporters, took to
the streets of New Haven, Conn., Wednesday night in an act of civil disobedience
intended to draw public attention to the acrimonious labor negotiations
now under way between Yale and many of its employees.
Disobedience
as a model of civility
(Yale Daily News Editorial, 9/26/02)
For far too long, Yale's labor relations have been among the worst in
the nation. Nowhere was that more apparent than at yesterday's symbolic
act of civil disobedience by hundreds of union members and their supporters.
The event, a mass blocking of traffic on Elm and College streets, clearly
showed that the relationship between Yale and its workers is still irrationally
dysfunctional -- and prompted little hope that it will improve anytime
soon. And yet, the event was effective in showing that union supporters
can display resolve without demonizing Yale.
Television Coverage of the
Civil Disobedience (9/25/02)
Channel 12: Text
file | Watch
MS video file
Channel 30: Text
file | Watch
video file
Channel 8: Text
file | Watch
RAM video file
Note: The above links are prone to expire quickly
Unions
at Yale Demonstrate for Contracts
(Associated Press, 9/25/02)
Michael Santarchangelo was there in 1965 when his union at Yale University
went on strike. He was there, striking again, in 1968, 1971, 1974, 1977,
1984 and 1996. He was there for all the labor demonstrations in between.
And he was there Wednesday, when about 700 people from Yale unions, clergy,
students and community leaders obstructed a city street and got arrested
in protest of stalled contract talks.
Correct
pay of city teachers
(A New Haven Register editorial, 9/26/02)
If the negotiations over the New Haven teachers' contract follow their
usual pattern, they will have gone to arbitration by this time next month.
A settlement will be reached between the school board and the executive
committee of the union. The rank and file will be handed the deal without
a vote.
Teachers,
city battle over pay scale and salaries
Sides agree on many issues, but negotiations still proceeding slowly
(Yale Daily News, 9/26/02)
As Yale's unions intensify their efforts in negotiations with the University,
the New Haven Federation of Teachers is involved in its own fight with
the New Haven Board of Education.
In
Tough Year, Harvard Endowment Falters
(Harvard Crimson, 9/26/02)
HarvardÕs endowment slipped for the second year in a row but fared significantly
better than market benchmarks during Fiscal Year 2002 (FY02), according
to figures released yesterday.
Harvard
to Pay Millions to Nearby Town for Property-Tax Losses on University-Owned
Land
(The Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/26/02)
Striking a town-gown deal that is unusual in its scope, Harvard University
has agreed to pay Watertown, Mass., about $480-million over 52 years to
compensate the community for property taxes it will not receive for 30
acres that the nonprofit institution purchased in the town. Harvard will
provide additional money under the plan, which was finalized on Tuesday,
to support community programs and to help improve Watertown's public schools.
Yale
Union Plans Protest
(New York Times, 9/25/02)
Unions and civil disobedience:
Series of 6 Op-Ed Testimonials
(Yale Daily News, 9/25/02)
By
Judy Miller
By Neheet Trivedi
By
Josh Eidelson
By
Jacob Blecher
By Nicholas Degani
By Peter Somerville
Trustee
elections should disclose candidates' ties to the University
(Yale Daily News,
9/24/02)
I propose that the ballots for alumni fellow of the Yale Corporation should
be required to disclose: 1. Any funding from interest groups; 2. Any business
relationships between the candidate and Yale University; and 3. Any business
relationships between the candidate and other trustees on the Yale Corporation
Union
plan disgraces MLK
(Yale Daily News, 9/24/02)
The unions are lying. They have no interest in negotiations, let alone
a fruitful dialogue with the University. Bob Proto and his followers want
their demands filled and will stoop to any low to achieve their goal.
Wednesday's
upcoming rally: a boost for workers
(Yale Daily News, 9/24/02)
I am not a union fanatic, especially not a New Haven union fanatic. I
really don't like some of the internal politics of the Yale unions ...
Not everything that every union does is good. But right now, the Yale
unions are fighting the good fight for the human right to organize and
for the most basic kind of economic justice.
Pro-union
students to stage fast for a day
(Yale Daily News,
9/23/02)
As union leaders prepare for a day of civil disobedience on Sept. 25,
about 30 students are showing their support of Yale's unions today by
encouraging other students to join them in what they called a hunger strike.
The
Chance for Corporation Reform
(Yale Daily News Editorial, 9/23/02)
[T]he Corporation should take steps to prevent the problems
that arose last spring from recurring in future alumni fellow elections.
New
Haven teachers union picks 3 key goals
(New Haven Register, 9/23/02)
How could anyone disagree with the idea that New Haven's children are
important? They are our future, and if we want them to be prepared both
professionally and personally for life in the new global economy, they
need to receive a first-rate education. We need to work together as teachers
with the city and everyone in New Haven to find new resources to improve
our schools.
Cases
will continue against union workers
(New Haven Register,
9/21/02)
Despite calls from City Hall and police to drop the cases, prosecutors
will proceed with trespassing charges against eight union workers arrested
by Yale-New Haven Hospital constables.
Levin,
union leaders spar outside office
(Yale Daily News,
9/20/02)
Hospital workers and union organizers gathered outside Woodbridge Hall
Thursday afternoon as Yale President Richard Levin and union leaders exchanged
pointed words over unionization, charges of harassment and labor law.
The altercation followed an attempt by the group to meet with Levin in
his Woodbridge Hall office. Workers and union leaders crowded into the
lobby and packed the office of the president's staff before Levin emerged
from his own office about a half hour later.
Teachers
take fight to City Hall
(New Haven Register,
9/20/02)
Hundreds of city teachers marched on City Hall Thursday afternoon demanding
smaller classes and better pay.
Corporation
campaign rules will not change
Trustees decide against restrictions after receiving alumni feedback
(Yale Daily News,
9/20/02)
In a letter mailed to alumni Thursday, the Yale Corporation announced
that no restrictions would be placed on campaigning for the University's
highest policy-making body.
Future
of negotiations uncertain
Move by unions not to cancel contracts leaves many possible outcomes
(Yale Daily News,
9/19/02)
When union leaders passed up the opportunity this week to cancel contracts
for next month, many University officials, workers and other observers
said they were surprised.
Bargaining
resumes with public discord
(Yale Daily News,
9/18/02)
A day after
extending contracts for another month, union and University negotiators
returned to the bargaining table Tuesday to discuss non-economic issues
that remain unresolved after seven months of bargaining.
Levin
should condemn Yale-New Haven labor arrests
(Yale Daily News,
9/17/02)
Op-Ed by Louise Davis and Patrick Casey Pitts, Co-Coordintors of Dwight
Hall
This past
weekend, the Dwight Hall Cabinet approved a statement calling upon Yale
President Richard Levin to publicly denounce the arrests of leafletters
at Yale-New Haven Hospital and to promise that those arrested will not
face expulsion or dismissal by the University. The cabinet's statement
argues that the arrests represent more than a simple question of labor
law. With the arrests, the hospital infringed upon one of the leafletters'
most fundamental rights: their freedom of speech.
Dwight
Hall decries arrests at hospital
(Yale Daily News,
9/17/02)
Charging that the recent arrests of eight union workers and graduate students
at Yale-New Haven Hospital were "attacks on freedom of speech," the Dwight
Hall cabinet Monday called on University President Richard Levin to condemn
the arrests and ensure that none of the workers or students lose their
jobs or are expelled.
Unions
agree not to cancel contracts
In surprise move, unions opt not to cancel contracts, averting strike
-- for now
(Yale Daily News,
9/17/02)
Despite talk of an October strike, the contracts for 4,000 workers in
locals 34 and 35 were automatically extended through Oct. 31 after the
deadline to cancel the contracts this month passed Monday. Because the
contracts contain "no strike, no lockout" clauses, job actions are prohibited
while the contracts are in effect.
'Condominium-izing'
workers
(Yale Daily News, Op-Ed by Josh Civin & Lisa Powell,
9/16/02)
On Tuesday morning, we watched in disbelief as the Yale-New Haven Hospital
police arrested four women for criminal trespassing. Their alleged crime?
Handing out leaflets to fellow workers at the entrance to the Yale Cancer
Center.
Paying
People to Work, but Not Enough to Live
(New York Times,
9/16/02)
Barbara Ehrenreich, in her book "Nickel and Dimed," showed how difficult
it is for a worker in the United States to survive on wages of $6 to $7
an hour. It's almost impossible. And if that worker has a family to support,
forget about it. Which is why so many low-wage workers are toiling away
at two jobs, or three, or even more.
The
plight of Pittston Farm
(Maine Portland Press Herald, 9/15/02)
The Twitchells blame their financial troubles on land ownership changes
beginning in 1999. That was when Bowater Inc., sold its Great Northern
Paper division and broke up its historic, 2 million acre land base. Roughly
656,000 acres were bought by McDonald Investment Co. of Birmingham, Ala.,
which in turn sold more than half to a foundation associated with Yale
University.
Stock
Options? Try Union Dues
(New York Times, 9/15/02)
Remember the new economy? Back when young workers were hopeful and dewy-eyed
and planning their retirements to Juan-les-Pins, France? True, they also
were falling asleep at their desks from overwork, earning barely enough
to buy their ramen noodles and sometimes going without health insurance.
But it didn't matter: their cups ran over with stock options.
More
Union Arrests follow leafletting at Yale
(New Haven Register, 9/14/02)
Deeper lines were drawn this week in Yale's ongoing union-management battle
as security at Yale-New Haven Hospital arrested four more union employees
for leafleting on hospital property, and city officials vowed to get the
charges dismissed.
Yale's
Investment Practices Under Fire
(Yale Herald, 9/14/02)
In June, YaleInsider
published a report linking Yale to unethical investments in the Sudan.
In fact, Yale's investment in an equity fund, controlled by a private
investment firm, may have supported the Sudanese government in a vicious
campaign against Christian rebels in Sudan.
Ramifications
of the Yale labor dispute
From dining halls to classrooms, decisions will affect entire community
(Yale Herald, 9/14/02)
Rumors surrounding the supposed firing of a Yale-hired labor consultant
have ignited tensions between the Yale administration and Yale's two largest
unions, Locals 34 and 35. Discussions of how to affect change, beginning
with new contracts, appeared smooth, until late May, when union leaders
claim that Yale had removed John Stepp, the hired labor consultant, from
the bargaining table and has reneged on their earlier agreement to follow
Stepp's recommendations.
State
Violated Union's Rights
Judge Faults Payments To Nursing Homes
(Hartford Courant, 9/14/02)
The main combatants in last year's massive nursing home strike were at
odds again Friday, with both sides declaring victory in a federal court
case that challenged the state's right to subsidize the cost of hiring
replacement workers. In a 91-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Janet C.
Hall agreed with the health care workers' union that the state's payment
of almost $30 million for replacement workers interfered with collective
bargaining and the plaintiffs' right to strike, which is protected by
the National Labor Relations Act.
A
split decision for state union
(New Haven Register, 9/14/02)
A federal judge handed the state's nursing home union a split decision
Friday, ruling that the state had the right to use federal funds for replacement
workers during the union's 2001 strike, but did so in an improper way.
U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall found that Gov. John G. Rowland's administration
was wrong to make blanket payments to nursing homes for such workers during
the New England Health Care Employees Union Local 1199 work stoppages.
Yale,
unions return to bargaining table
Negotiations enter 7th month
(Yale Daily News, 9/13/02)
Yale and union negotiators returned to the bargaining table Thursday,
following a monthlong recess and increases in public hostilities on both
sides. At the negotiations, union leaders presented their plans for labor-management
cooperation and best practices.
Teach-in
presents unions' case
(Yale Daily News, 9/13/02)
With talk of fall strikes by Yale's unions growing daily, more than 70
students attended a teach-in on labor issues Thursday night, presented
by an undergraduate group connected with the .unions.
The
Lawyers Must've Worked Hard on this One
(New Haven Advocate, 9/12/02)
Give Yale-New Haven Hospital and its union-busting lawyers credit: They
come up with creative ways to subvert labor laws and free-speech rights
in their quest to quash a blue-collar unionizing drive. Their latest feat
came last week, when hospital police arrested four union supporters for
distributing pro-union literature in front of the Dana Clinic Building
on Howard Avenue.
Faculty
Union Seeks Agreement With U. of Massachusetts on Distance Courses
(Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/12/02)
A faculty union wants to create a collective-bargaining agreement with
the University of Massachusetts system to make sure its professors aren't
overworked or underpaid when they venture into distance education. The
university administration says it will go along with some of the union's
proposals, but others will be subject to negotiation.
GESO
warns of possible TA strike
Group continues fight for recognition; fate may affect negotiations with
locals 34 and 35
(Yale Daily News, 9/12/02)
GESO leaders said the organization's members may strike this fall if the
University does not hold discussions with the teaching assistant group.
University,
police union negotiating contract
Last negotiations saw police job actions, took 2 years to resolve
(Yale Daily News, 9/12/02)
Four years after major contract disputes left Yale police officers considering
a strike and staging job actions, the University and the Yale Police Benevolent
Association are again working on new contracts, this time hoping to settle
the matter more quickly and quietly. Negotiators are using a new strategy
called interest-based bargaining and working with a consultant from Restructuring
Associates, Inc., the same labor-management consulting firm hired for
negotiations between Yale and locals 34 and 35.
Yale-union
divide apparent at revival
(Yale Daily News, 9/10/02)
Nearly 200 Yale workers, union leaders and area residents packed Center
Church on the Green for a fiery revival Monday night, as clergy members
encouraged them to fast, pray and "do whatever it takes" to achieve a
new relationship with Yale.
Corporation candidacy rules may be changed
Response forthcoming on Schmoke's proposal
to ban campaigning
(Yale Daily News, 9/10/02)
In the wake of last May's heated Yale Corporation
election, possible changes to Corporation bylaws regarding candidate campaigning
may be announced in late September following the solicitation of alumni
feedback.
Hospital
Police Arrest Union Workers
(Yale Daily News, 9/9/02)
As tension mounts between Yale and its unions,
union leaders accused the University of involvement in the arrests of
four workers distributing leaflets about unionization in front of a Yale-New
Haven Hospital building last week.
4
pro-union workers at Yale arrested
(New Haven Register,
9/7/02)
Amid escalating union-management tension, four Yale University employees
were arrested during the past several days after they passed out pro-union
leaflets outside a Yale-New Haven Hospital building. All four were charged
with criminal trespass and face preliminary court dates next week.
Union
Protests Yale Arrests
(Associated Press
Wire, 9/7/02)
In the most recent flare-up between Yale University and workers seeking
a new contract, a coalition of labor unions on Friday protested the arrests
of four Yale employees on trespassing charges as they distributed pro-union
leaflets.
First
contract settled for New Haven bus drivers
(New Haven Register,
9/7/02)
Summer-long negotiations ended Thursday when a Rhode Island-based bus
company agreed to a first-time union contract with city bus drivers that
includes a 25 percent salary increase over four years, union officials
said.
Y-NH
food service workers authorize leaders to call strike
(New Haven Register,
9/7/02)
Unionized food service workers at Yale-New Haven Hospital have voted in
favor of authorizing their negotiators to call for a strike if necessary,
union officials announced Thursday.
Dietary
workers at hospital vote to authorize strike
(Yale Daily News, 9/6/02)
During voting Wednesday night and Thursday, dietary workers at Yale-New
Haven Hospital authorized leaders to call a strike. The workers, who are
represented by SEIU District 1199, voted 87-13, with one voided ballot,
to allow leaders to call job actions.
Massachusetts
College Employees Stage Brief Walkout Over Salary Dispute
(Chronicle of Higher
Education, 9/6/02)
Thousands
of faculty and staff members at many of Massachusetts' colleges and universities
briefly walked out on their jobs and staged rallies on Thursday to protest
the state's decision not to finance $29.6-million in salary increases
that they had expected under collective-bargaining agreements with the
state. Event organizers referred to the statewide gatherings, which were
scheduled to last 15 minutes, as a "unity coffee break," and said the
protest was designed to show state leaders and university administrators
that they needed to finance union contracts to ensure a quality system
of higher education. Rallies had been planned on 28 campuses, including
those of the University of Massachusetts, state colleges, and community
colleges, and organizers said they had confirmed by mid-afternoon Thursday
that most of them had occurred.
Coliseum
workers negotiate exit pay
(The New Haven Register, 9/6/02)
The company that ran the New Haven Coliseum has sat down with the arena's
now-jobless union workers to discuss severance, officials said this week.
The closure puts roughly 70 workers out of a job, just over half of them
part-time concession workers represented by Hotel and Restaurant Workers
Local 217.
Disingenuous
dealings ruin 'new tone'
(Yale Daily News, 9/6/02)
The University and locals 34 and 35, its two largest recognized unions,
spent much of the last nine months patiently assuring each other -- and
the rest of the Yale community -- that they were committed to ending the
animosity that has plagued their relationship for decades ...
LTE: Labor
Strife (9/9/02)
LTE: Labor
Rights are Human Rights (9/10/02)
Yale,
workers benefit from union-free community
(Yale Daily News, 9/6/02)
As locals 34 and 35 prepare to strike, one can only reflect on their detriment
to the Yale community. Yale is a premier academic institution whose energy
and resources should be devoted to researching, discovering, and educating.
Spending time and money that could be used to intellectually enrich students
on trying to appease unions fits nowhere in Yale's purpose.
Yale
Labor Unions Pass Walkout Authorizations
(Hartford Courant,
9/5/02)
Unionized workers at Yale University and Yale-New Haven Hospital voted
overwhelmingly Wednesday night to authorize a strike later this fall if
contract talks do not progress.
2
Yale labor unions give go-ahead for strike action
(The New Haven Register, 9/5/02)
In a new step toward a potentially tumultuous fall season on campus, Yale's
two major labor unions voted overwhelmingly Wednesday night to authorize
its executive committee to call for a strike if necessary.
Yale
should follow labor consultant's recommendations
(Yale Daily News, 9/4/02)
This evening, members of Local 34, Local 35 and District 1199/SEIU's Yale-New
Haven Hospital food service workers will hold strike authorization votes.
As have so many Yale students before them, undergraduates this year face
the possibility of the disruption of a work stoppage. It doesn't have
to happen, at least not according to Yale's own labor relations expert.
Strike
authorization vote to be held today
(Yale Daily News,
9/4/02)
Members of Yale's two largest unions will vote tonight on whether to allow
their leaders to call a strike. If authorized by their members, union
leaders could order a strike if they believe contract negotiations with
Yale are deadlocked.
Yale
Unions To Vote
Workers Consider Strike Authorization
(Hartford Courant,
9/4/02)
Amid charges that Yale has done nothing to change a 60-year history of
bad labor relations, three unions representing more than 4,000 university
workers will vote today on whether to take the first step toward a strike.
Yale
unions poised to call strike
(The New Haven Register, 9/4/02)
Yale's union members tonight will authorize their negotiating committee
to call a strike if necessary, a union leader declared Tuesday. Robert
Proto, president of the Federation of Union Employees at Yale, made the
prediction at a news conference in which he and other union officials
accused Yale President Richard C. Levin of not being serious about wanting
real change.
LTE: Levin
Letter about Labor Talks full of 'Misinformation'
Yale
gears ups for strike
Sharp differences as contract talks enter 8th month
(The New Haven Register, 9/1/02)
Yale's labor union leaders are "more interested in preparing for confrontation"
with Yale officials than reaching a contract settlement for their workers,
Yale University President Richard C. Levin charged Saturday ... The letter,
coupled with an adamant response Saturday by one of the union leaders,
indicates the two sides have sharp differences as the new academic year
begins and contract negotiations enter their eighth month without a settlement.
Update
on Capitalism: What Do You Mean 'Us,' Boss?
(New York Times, 9/1/02)
NOT long ago, before the accounting scandals at Enron, WorldCom and other
companies, workers often saw themselves as management's best buddies.
Gone was the old, us-against-them mentality in which workers viewed C.E.O.'s
as robber barons intent on squeezing them for every last dollar.
August
2002
Indra
Nooyi named to Yale Corporation
(The New Haven Register, 8/29/02)
Indra Nooyi, the president and chief financial officer of PepsiCo, has
been named to the Yale Corporation, the university's governing body.
Police
stop hospital workers' vigil
(New Haven Register, 8/28/02)
Yale-New Haven Hospital workers seeking to form a union were turned away
by police Tuesday when they attempted to hold a vigil outside the home
of hospital CEO Joseph Zaccagnino. Several town police officers stopped
about 65 hospital workers, who rode in two school buses to the upscale
neighborhood.
Experts
urge city schools to cut class sizes
(New Haven Register, 8/28/02)
City school officials should reassign staff, find creative ways to add
new classrooms and redirect federal money to hire teachers to lower class
size, two national experts in class size reduction said Tuesday night.
Strikeout
(Wall St. Journal, 8/28/02)
If Major League Baseball players walk off the job this week, thousands
of hot-dog vendors, janitors and the like could go without a job as well,
says John Wilhelm, president of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees
International Union.
Clerical
Workers Start 3-Day Strike at Berkeley
Lecturers Prepare to Join Job Action
(The Chronicle of
Higher Education, 8/27/02)
Clerical workers at the University of California at Berkeley began a three-day
strike on Monday. About 450 lecturers -- who teach more 20 percent of
the classes at Berkeley -- plan to strike on Wednesday ... The Berkeley
chapter of the California Nurses Association announced a sympathy strike
to support the clerical workers and lecturers this week ... And members
of the graduate student union, which is affiliated with the United Auto
Workers, plan to join the picket lines at Berkeley in a symbolic protest.
COLISEUM'S
LAST ACT
As arena closes, it's workers' turn to seek 'concessions'
(The New Haven Register,
8/26/02)
An estimated 74 people will be out of jobs after the New Haven Coliseum
shuts its doors this week, and its public parking garage closes in the
months that follow. The fate of the Coliseum's workers, however, some
of whom have sold popcorn or mopped floors at the doomed arena for decades,
is far from clear. "We feel that some of the workers have been there for
five, 10, 20 years that need to be recognized and respected," said Katharine
Cristiani, an organizer with Hotel and Restaurant Workers Local 217, which
represents the arena's 41 part-time concession workers.
New
Freedom Ride for America's illegal workers
Segregation-era tactic will try to raise status of millions of immigrants
(The Guardian U.K.,
8/11/02)
More than 40 years after the famous civil rights Freedom Riders challenged
segregation in the southern states, a new Freedom Ride is being planned
to champion the rights of millions of immigrants in the United States
without documents.
More
Information about Immigration Workers Freedom Ride
Union
will staff Yale's Dwight College
(New Haven Register,
8/8/02)
Yale's unions and university officials have agreed that union workers
rather than subcontractors will staff Timothy Dwight residential college
when its renovation is completed.
Hospital's
suit backfires
(New Haven Register Editorial, 8/7/02)
Much like the Boston archdiocese tried to hush up its pedophilia scandal,
Bridgeport Hospital has tried to cover up and buy off the victims of its
own misdeeds. When that didn't work, the hospital -- part of the Yale-New
Haven Health Care System -- last month sued Philip Bonaffini of Bridgeport
and Eunice Babcock of Stratford to shut them up.
1,000
protesters rally over ministers' arrests
(New Haven Register, 8/6/02)
Close to 1,000 demonstrators from throughout the region converged on the
steps of police headquarters Monday, protesting charges against two ministers
stemming from noise complaints about a church service in Fair Haven last
month.
The
Rise of the Perma-Temp
(New York Times, 8/4/02)
Spinning gold out of air has become instinctive for Ms. Bobrove, an adjunct
professor who was paid $1,300 a course last academic year. She has no
office (the windshield of her station wagon sports a sun reflector that
reads ''Adjunct Office'') and receives no benefits, though she has taught
at Camden County for 20 years.
Title
Wave
(New York Times, 8/4/02)
Any West Point cadet can explain the difference between a lieutenant colonel
and a colonel. Rank, after all, is important stuff. But a freshman at
Berkeley might not fare so well explaining the difference between a visiting
professor and an adjunct. Despite its reputation for hierarchy, the Army
has far fewer titles to classify soldiers (24, from private through general)
than a typical research university has to classify teachers (40, from
teaching fellow to professor emeritus, at Harvard).
UMass
to negotiate pact with RAs
Amherst undergraduates will join labor force
(Boston Globe, 8/1/02)
In a significant reversal, University of Massachusetts at Amherst officials
announced yesterday they will negotiate a labor contract with undergraduate
students, becoming the first college in the nation to agree to do so.
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