The University and the unions representing Yale's clerical, technical, service and maintenance employees began daily bargaining sessions on new labor contracts April 30.
At the first of the daily bargaining sessions, the University proposed to guarantee for six years the jobs and wages of all 1,100 current Yale service and maintenance workers, in exchange for broader subcontracting authority in a new labor agreement with Local 35 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union. Yale had previously proposed to guarantee the workers' jobs and wages for four years in exchange for the subcontracting authority.
"This compromise proposal will allow Yale to improve services, provide absolute job and wage security for Local 35 employees through 2002, and guarantee the union's ability to renegotiate on subcontracting after we have both had experience with it, and while current union members would still have two full years of absolute job security," said Vice President for Finance and Administration Joseph P. Mullinix.
The unions stated that they would not accept the proposal, and subsequently presented the University with what they termed a "concept proposal" for subcontracting that generated further discussion of the issue.
In other developments at the bargaining table, the University rejected a proposal by the unions to submit contract issues unresolved by May 19 to arbitration. The University had earlier stated that it did not want a disinterested party to impose a contract settlement. Pensions and health care coverage for retirees were also discussed following presentation by the unions of a counter-proposal to the University's earlier offering on those matters.
The University and its unions began negotiations last November on four-year contracts to replace the ones that expired in February 1996.
The call for bargaining sessions each business day was made by the University April 19, during a month-long strike called by Local 35. The University noted at that time that the two sides had spent only 10 hours together at the bargaining table in the previous 10 weeks, a period during which Local 34, which represents clerical and technical workers, had also called a month-long strike.
The most current information about the status of labor negotiations between Yale and the unions is available through the World Wide Web at http://www.edu/opa, or via gopher on YaleInfo under Public Affairs News & Resources.