On Friday, the University of New Haven said in a university-wide email that they had reached an agreement with the 35 union employees who had walked off their jobs on Thursday.
The employees had been negotiating for greater job security and better wages and working conditions.
Friday’s email, which came from the university’s Office of Human Resources, said, “University officials and union representatives are proud to have reached this agreement in our first collaborative effort together. During the more than six months of negotiations, the team worked jointly to address employment-related terms for union staff, wages, and benefits, as well as concerns about job security.”
In the release, new university president Jens Frederiksen said, “This agreement recognizes the significant contributions of our facilities employees while reinforcing the importance of sound academic and fiscal stewardship in an ever-evolving higher education marketplace.”
Also in the email, Josh Stanley, secretary-treasurer of UNITE Local 217, said, “We believe that this new contract will provide stability, confidence and dignity for our members, their families and the university community as the whole of the University of New Haven looks toward its next chapter.”
This followed a week of public activity surrounding the union’s efforts, which included a large inflatable rat – which frequently accompanies strikes – a visit from Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, State Comptroller Sean Scanlon, both of whom are Democrats and a steady stream of back-and-forth conversation between unionized workers and university administration.
On Thursday, unionized employees took to each of the institution’s entrances to picket and make their presence known with air horns and whistles. Students said the picketing began around 6 a.m. and continued through the morning despite rain. The inflatable rat was at the university’s main entrance on Boston Post Road.
The commencement of the workers’ strike attracted attention across the state and last week the university saw visits from a number of statewide political figures, including Bysiewicz and Scanlon, who visited campus to speak with the unionized workers Thursday morning and appeared in photos on UNITE’s Instagram.
At roughly 11 a.m. Friday, the human relations offices sent the university community an email that was nearly identical to one they sent on Monday. Thursday’s email also said, “We respect the union’s decision to exercise its right to go on strike. At the same time, we must ensure that these activities do not impact the service we provide for our community.”
Friday’s statement also emphasized the university’s focus: “Our priority is minimizing any interruption to University operations and ensuring the safety of our campus and all University community members and visitors.”
Both university statements also included the hope that the issues can be resolved “soon” and said the school “continues to bargain in good faith, with the desire to reach a fair and equitable agreement.”
When contacted by the Bulletin, the Office of Marketing and Communication sent the same statement and the Office of Human Relations did not respond to requests to comment. This follows the notice to the university community which clarified that “only individuals from the Office of Marketing and Communications are permitted to make statements to the media regarding this or any other University matter.” The Bulletin is unable to provide any comment from supervisors or administrative staff overseeing the unionized workers at this time.
On April 8, the university’s 35 unionized employees held a press conference on campus after a 94% vote to strike if such action was deemed necessary.
During the press conference, Bysiewicz called the day “historic” and said “we had an eclipse, and we may have a strike.”
Bysiewicz, who was at the event on behalf of Gov. Ned Lamont, also a Democrat, said among other items, the rally was “mostly a fight about job security and what the future of our families is going to look like.”
She told workers “the governor and I are here to support you in this very important fight. It is a fight about the future,” as she spoke about the importance of just working conditions.
University employees also spoke on Monday night, including Libero Fasulo, an electrician, who talked about his concerns about current working conditions, which he said compromised his safety.
“Right now, I work alone,” said Fasulo. “While climbing ladders and dealing with dangerous equipment, if one of these days I fall off the ladder, no one will know or realize until I don’t punch out in the morning.”
In the crowd, someone said in response, “You’re just a number to them.”
Fasulo mentioned a prior Bulletin article, which mentioned mold in the dorms and said “this kind of news breaks my heart. We want to service these buildings to the best of our capacity.”
To this, someone in the crowd responded and said, “You can’t do this by yourself.”
Fasulo was frequently interrupted with cheers as he spoke.
Earlier on Monday, the university’s human resources office sent an email to the university community and said, “When the facilities employees requested that the University do more to guarantee their job security, the University met that request, offering job protection for the life of the contract for those employed as of the date the contract is ratified,” and that “the Union responded that this was still not enough.”
In their statement, the university also dismissed multiple fliers distributed by Local 217 UNITE HERE and described them as “misleading” and “inaccurate.”
In response to the request for more stable hours, the April 8 email said the university does not reduce hours except in unprecedented circumstances, and that university administration offered job security in their contract proposed on April 4.
Bysiewicz asked the university “Are you listening? Are you watching?” and the community surrounding the union efforts is on standby to learn the answers to these questions.
