Dear Local 34 Members

 

As Jack Callahan announced yesterday, we are happy to say that Yale has committed to fully pay all C&Ts through July 10th. The vast majority of us have been working full schedules from home and will be able to continue to do so during this time. Hundreds of us have been going onto campus to keep things running and to treat patients. A special shout-out to all our members in the clinical practices and Yale Health, Yale Animal Resource Center, ITS, Facilities, University Security, and Yale Printing and Publishing Services who have formed the core of our critical function workers.

In March, we worked hard to get people working from home as quickly as possible. In clinics and labs, our union stewards pushed for protective gear and social distancing. Now, we have been working closely with management to ensure that Yale is reopening safely. As you read, testing is available and contact tracing has increased. Cleaning protocols are in place. Most of the people being asked to return to campus in research and in libraries have heard from management already about their departments gearing up and the special measures that will be taken. Other areas, like the clinical practices and Yale Health have been operating throughout but will be scheduling more staff on campus.

We have worked with Yale on a process to pay people fully through July 10th even if they are in a vulnerable category and cannot return to campus.

Yale asserts that because they are open, the premium pay for on-campus work will no longer be in effect. Local 34 is in talks with Yale about this and numerous related issues including childcare days for the many parents among us, reasonable assignments for people without work, provisions for the interim employment pool, and appropriate use of data from the symptom monitory project. Local 34 is also examining the retirement incentive being offered to M&Ps.

Our highest priority of course is what happens after July 10th. There is plenty of work to be done to keep Yale running—we will be focused on securing our jobs for the short-run and the long run.

We are happy to say that our brothers and sisters in the Local 35 dining halls, facing uncertainty with summer courses cancelled, will now be able to return to campus in June and will be training in cleaning and sanitation. 

Now more than ever, it is important for us to stand together. Your union Executive Board has launched a program to talk to each of you and to understand how you are faring in this crisis. We have been on the phone for hundreds of hours talking to over a thousand people so far. Be on the lookout for a call from your committee person or respond to this email to get in touch.

We will write again soon about the developing situation.

Laurie Kennington
President, Local 34