Yale's finest wait for University's best offer

When negotiations stalled between the University and the Yale Police, Jimmy Williams took to the streets. Armed with a drum and leading his children, the officer marched down College Street and appealed to freshmen and their parents for support in his union's cause.

Williams is one of 54 Yale police officers who have been working without a contract for 15 months. The University and the Yale Police Benevolent Association (YPBA) have been talking since the contract expired on June 30, 1996. Though a temporary extension to Thurs., Aug. 7, was worked out, the date came and went without any significant results.

This deadlock leaves both sides unhappy.

"Yale is holding these negotiations hostage and are unwilling to put forth a total economic package," Yale Police officer Christopher Morganti, YPBA treasurer, said. "We're frustrated about the pace of things. All we can hope for is that Yale will negotiate, and we're more than willing to do that."

The union came to the bargaining table with about 170 proposals; the University arrived with three, James Juhas, Yale lead negotiator said. Juhas helped hammer out the union's previous contracts in 1992 and 1988.

"The University is expecting a lot more city stuff. They haven't even talked raises," a Yale police officer, who asked to remain nameless, said. Police have not been given a raise for two years--despite the fact that they are more at risk patrolling areas like Chapel St. and Broadway.

Since Yale police officers are taking on more responsibility off campus, they believe that their level of benefits should resemble those received by other city departments like New Haven and Hartford. Among the police union's top concerns are higher wages, increased pensions, and long term disability coverage.

The issue of immediate concern to Yale is the creation of a new series of health plans, Juhas said. The impetus for the move was a desire to be cost-effective, an issue which became critical when Juhas discovered that one of the current providers, Constitutional Health, was no longer going to be available.

New forms of health coverage have been arranged for Yale's other unions, and Yale offered the same deal to the YPBA, he said. The issue has not been settled completely yet, but Juhas said that a basic design has been resolved.

Another issue involves the use of compensatory time. Police officers who work holidays currently have the option of receiving overtime pay or taking time off later. The Administration wants to eliminate the latter option because it creates scheduling headaches. "The time often has a secondary effect that you have to find a second person to take their place," Juhas said.

Finally, the University wants to institute a different policy for retiree health, requiring the individual to share more of the cost. Morganti contended, however, that adopting such a plan would take away too large a portion of the officers' pensions.

Even with all the items out on the table and over 30 meetings behind them, there still remain about 60 proposals at issue between the two parties, Juhas said. There has, however, been some progress.

The University agreed to a union proposal to increase the pension multiplier from 1.55 to 2 percent, effectively increasing pensions by about 29 percent, he said. Yale Police Chief Allan Guyet attended several days of meetings and helped hammer out some agreements on operational issues, including training and disciplinary procedures. "I thought we were productive," he said.

According to Brian Tunney, director of labor relations, the problem is that these concessions have failed to lead to agreements on bigger issues. "We've thought in truth as we went along that we were settling the bigger issues," he said. "The frustration is shifting priorities. What is important today changes from time to time."

"We've found it very difficult to identify those things that are important to the YPBA," Juhas added.

The union holds the University responsible for the negotiations' crawling pace, claiming that Yale sees hidden costs behind every proposal.

It is typical in labor negotiations to save the economic package for last, Juhas explained. "If you negotiate on economics first...it removes any incentive to come to an agreement on any of these other issues," he said.

Even though talks continue to be log-jammed, it does not appear that the police officers who kept the campus secure during a strike by unions Locals 34 and 35 in 1996 will be walking out any time soon.

"A strike is only an option. It's unlikely but it's also a possibility," Morganti said. "Negotiations are going, so it's not imminent or anything."

Marcia Ryan, consultant for special projects at the Office of Public Affairs, said there is a much better chance that differences will be settled at the negotiating table than the picket line. Despite this, Yale has gone ahead and prepared contingency plans.

On both sides, the focus now is to hammer out a contract. Communication lines will be kept open with meetings scheduled for Tues., Sept. 23, and Mon., Sept. 29.

"If everyone was cooperative, we could get together and have an agreement by next week," Juhas said.

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