Why can’t they—Yale—find money to support the essential work
One of the perks of working at home is getting to check my blood pressure multiple times a day. What a perk! This year, I’ve realized how much stress affects my hypertension. Somehow, during a year when a global pandemic shuttered the economy and had people fearing for their health, my job was the most stressful thing on my plate
After one of my colleagues retired, I was asked to take on her work in addition to my own. For a year now, I have been working two full-time jobs, and only being compensated for one of them. It is hard to describe the toll this has taken on my physical and emotional health. Our union, UNITE HERE, has been fighting for working people across the country with the motto “One Job Should Be Enough.” No one should have to work multiple jobs just to support themselves and their family. No one should have to work one job, and do the work of two people, either.
As a student at Yale and later an employee, I have dedicated time, energy, and talent to this University. Instead of having that dedication respected, I feel like my experience, professionalism, and service are being taken advantage of. Yale needs to sign a fair contract with our union, now, and to start treating our dedication with respect.
Ben McManus, YC ’78
Chair’s Assistant, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering
17 years at Yale
We’ve all seen how invested Yale is in growing the sciences. According to the Yale Daily News, “Provosts have cut expenses, generated surpluses and reinvested that money into a fund to pay for the ambitious new science infrastructure Yale announced last October.” In the last five years, my department, Applied Physics, has grown by four faculty members, and doubled the number of graduate students.
Our workload has grown as quickly as the department has. But in spite of its commitments to the sciences, Yale hasn’t hired adequate Local 34 staff to support my department. Yale needs to set its members up for success by hiring adequate staff and filling positions that are already vacant. These good jobs can also help the University fulfill its local hiring commitments.
My work involves overseeing millions of dollars, and supporting students through a challenging time in their lives. Right now, I’m helping coordinate the installation of a dilution refrigerator, which will support Yale’s cutting-edge quantum research. If I make a mistake or miss a deadline, research is pushed back months, and students can be held back from graduating on time. Yale finds plenty of money for buildings and infrastructure. Why can’t they find money to support the essential work we do? It’s just common sense.
Alex Bozzi
Registrar, Department of Applied Physics
12 years at Yale