The effect of a union strike will go well beyond the simple inconvenience of limited dining hall service for undergraduates. A strike will not only force student dining hall employees to make a decision between their work and support for the union, but it will also make lab work for science classes more difficult and may pose problems for research at the medical school. These strike related issues are becoming more ominous as the negotiation deadline of Mon., Feb. 5 approaches.
Undergraduate dining hall workers must join the union in order to work. This puts them in a tenuous position in terms of the strike. Robert Gryder, MC '97, a student worker in the Morse-Stiles dining hall, outlined his options if the strike should occur. "I can cross the picket line and work, I can strike, or I can quit my job in order to avoid striking or crossing the picket line," Gryder said.
Local 35 head Bob Proto expects the student workers to support the unions. "Our dining hall is 100 percent behind our efforts," Proto said. Proto also mentioned that there has been solid support from the undergraduate workers during the preliminary planning of the strike, and he expects them to go on strike with the rest of the union members.
Gryder noted that the student workers were not necessarily enthusiastic about supporting the upcoming strike. "Most of the student workers are going with the flow and will not cross the picket line during a strike, but I don't see too many student workers actively striking [themselves]," Gryder explained.
The difficulty comes for students who do not want to strike but do not want to cross picket lines. Gryder fits this category. "I will not strike. For one reason: I didn't get to vote for the strike. My plan is to quit my job. I don't want to cross the picket line, which would be disrespectful to my friends who are in the union," Gryder said.
Financially, some students may not be able to afford not working during the strike. According to Proto, the student workers will "have the option to utilize our [Local 35's] resource committee which includes a job information base." However, this information is not yet common knowledge to all the student workers. "I had not been told of such an option. I assume that I would have to go to Hendrie Hall to find work," commented Gryder.
Chuck Bennet, the assistant director of Yale University Dining Halls (YUDH), noted that the dining hall is not advocating a particular policy for the students to follow. He explained that in the event of a strike, the residential dining halls would be shut down and temporary service would be available at Commons. "We would want to retain our students during the strike. We would employ as many of them as possible," Bennet said. However, Bennet realized that it will ultimately be up to the students themselves to take advantage of this opportunity.
Another important issue is what will happen to the many science labs. Proto noted that during the strike there will be no custodial services to the labs. This includes plumbing, heating, and cleaning of lab areas.
Dave Song, BR '97, who works in Steve Smith's MB&B lab, said that preparations are being made in anticipation of the strike's effects. "We have been ordering whatever chemicals we need for the next four months," Song said. Should the strike take effect, the clerical staff of the Kline and Bass buildings will also walk out with their brothers in Local 34. The processing of lab material order forms and deliveries will thus become very difficult. Song said that the inability to order chemicals and basic lab materials like pipettes and test tubes on a weekly basis will "make it very inconvenient for a lab like this to carry out simple experiments."
The Medical School laboratories will face similar problems should a strike occur. Scott O'Neil, who runs a lab on insect disease vectors, acknowledged that a strike would be an inconvenience to his work. O'Neil pointed to the care of lab animals as one of the many jobs that are normally taken care of by union workers. In the event of the strike, O'Neil himself may have to take on the added responsibility of feeding and changing the bedding of the animals. Some lab technicians in the Sterling Hall of Medicine are members of the unions as well, which could shut down some research offices altogether. One researcher at the Medical School said, "I plan on catching up on my writing and grants which will hopefully carry me through the strike."
Gary Fryer, director of Public Affairs, that "in each instance where there is union action, the University has put together a contingency plan." Planning for the worst case scenario, Bennet stated that YUDH has been making arrangements for temporary service in Commons, the Yale Health Plan, and the Yale Psychiatric Institute. Fryer said, "There will be contingency plans, but we can't say specifically what they are so they won't be prevented."
Other problems that could arise in the laboratory and throughout the University include equipment breakdown (normally handled by the physical plant), suspended clerical work, and inability to order materials through receiving. However, O'Neil stated that "none of these events will be critical" to the functioning of his experiments. "We are pretty self sufficient," O'Neil said.
The likelihood of a strike is increasing. Proto said, "If what is on the table is on the table on Sunday at midnight there will be a strike. The University should take more responsibility for preventing this place from becoming total chaos next week."
Copyright 1995, The Yale Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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