Unionized workers at the University of New Haven walked off the job Thursday, but called off a strike after reaching a tentative agreement with university officials.
The union will vote whether to ratify the agreement Friday morning.
The past week at the University of New Haven saw a large blow-up rat – which frequently accompanies strikes – a visit from Lt. Gov. Susan Byciewicz, State Comptroller Sean Scanlon and a steady stream of back-and-forth 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 the rain. The inflatable rat was at the university’s main entrance on Boston Post Road.
The commencement of the workers’ strike attracted much attention across the state, and this week the university has seen to 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., the Office of Human Relations sent the university community an email that was nearly identical to one which they released 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.”
This statement continued to emphasize the university’s focus, in saying “Our priority is minimizing any interruption to University operations and ensuring the safety of our campus and all University community members and visitors.”
Both statements provided on behalf of the university have also included the hope that the issues can be resolved “soon” and that 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. 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.” Because of this, the Bulletin is unable to provide any comment from supervisors or administrative staff overseeing the unionized workers at this time.
On Monday evening, the university’s 35 unionized employees held a press conference on campus, following a 94% vote to strike if such action was deemed necessary.
During the press conference, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz (D-Conn.) called the day “historic” in that “we had an eclipse, and we may have a strike.”
Bysiewicz, who was at the event on behalf of Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Conn.), said that 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 the workers that “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 out on Monday night, including Libero Fasulo, an electrician who shared his story and concerns about the current state of affairs, 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 covered concerns of mold and other conditions in the dorms, and said that “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.”
In between nearly each sentence of Fasulo’s speech, he was interrupted with cheers from those in attendance.
Earlier on Monday, the university’s Office of Human Resources sent an email to the university community and they 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.
