Yale's finest deserve a fair contract

By Noel Poyo, Peter Stein, & Rob Stilling

As we hunker down to finish off the semester, an issue important to the Yale community slips along unnoticed. For the past 21 months, Yale Police officers have been working without a contract. In the past month, negotiations between the Yale Police Benevolent Association (the union that represents Yale Police officers) and the Yale Administration have come to a grinding halt. These negotiations represent the YPBA's effort to bring its contract closer to those of other police departments, such as New Haven's and Harvard's.

In recent years, the duties of Yale Police officers have grown. Our officers are now deputized New Haven officers with jurisdiction over the entire city. The NHPD routinely routes calls from areas around campus to Yale Police, including murders and other violent crimes. The Yale Police have the right to expect their contract to reflect the increasing responsibility and danger their jobs entail. Understanding the changing role of Yale Police on campus and in New Haven is vital to understanding their positions at the negotiating table. Three issues separate Yale and the Association:

1. Pension. The first point of contention surrounds the age and years of service required to retire with full pension benefits. Currently, YPD officers can retire and collect a pension equal to half their pay after 33 years on the Yale force. New Haven Police can retire with the same benefits after 20 years. Yale has offered 25 years, to which the union has agreed on two conditions. First, the union wants to lower the age at which an officer can retire and receive partial benefits from 55 to 50. Second, under the old contract, the number of years an officer worked for Yale plus his or her age must equal 70 in order to retire with some benefits. The YPBA wants to lower this to 65.

Why these stipulations? Police work is physically demanding. The union wants to maintain a younger, more effective force, but this change is impossible under the current system. These changes will improve student security and will help ensure the safety of the police. Yale estimates that each of these stipulations will cost $85,000 per officer. The Administration arrives at this figure by assuming that every officer on the force will take advantage of both of these provisions (retire at 50 with exactly 15 years of service and thus receive partial benefits). This is a ridiculous assumption that only serves to inflate the figure. But even using the Administration's figure, this concession to the 55-member union would barely constitute a footnote in Yale's billion-dollar budget.

2. Disabilities. The Yale Police currently have the same disability plan as professors and administrators. Officers put themselves in harm's way for a living and therefore want to bring their coverage closer to what most police officers have. The major point of disagreement is that the YPBA wants the plan to cover any disability that prevents an officer from working. Yale only wants to cover them for disabilities incurred "on the job," a vague term that could lead to court battles. Yale would obviously have an advantage in lawyers and money in such a situation.

As Yale skimps on disability, it is interesting to examine other protection Yale fails to provide. Yale does not supply its officers with bulletproof vests, but allows them to respond to calls throughout the city, including murders. Officers are given a $500 per year allowance for uniforms. But even if every cent of this is spent on a vest, it still takes close to three years to save enough to buy one of these life-saving devices. Some officers pay out of their own pockets for a vest. Others must wait--unprotected.

3. Officers' Bill of Rights. Finally, the Benevolent Association asks for something that will cost Yale nothing--an Officers' Bill of Rights. The officers want some definition of how they should be treated by their supervisors and the Administration. This is an issue of respect and dignity, not economics. The Union began with 150 proposals to bring its old contract out of the dark ages. The Administration has taken each proposal separately, negotiating very slowly. Meanwhile, Yale Police have worked without a contract. This period included the Local 34/35 strikes, during which they worked 12-hour shifts and six-day weeks. Such an arrangement showed good faith on the part of the Union to make negotiations work, yet Yale plods along at a snail's pace.

Where does this leave us? Settling this matter as soon as possible suits the best interests of all parties involved. A fair contract will allow for a stronger, more effective police force that can provide the highest quality protection. The Yale Police Benevolent Association asks only for a contract that recognizes the important role its members play in keeping Yale safe.

Noel Poyo is a senior in Morse, Peter Stein is a junior in Davenport, and Rob Stilling is a junior in Morse

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