Police union still looking for student support

By Joshua Marks

LIZ OLINER/YH Off-duty cops marched from Phelps Gate to Beinecke Plaza to raise awareness about their ongoing contract dispute on Thurs., Apr. 16.

In an effort to boost student awareness of its ongoing contract dispute, Yale's police union made a public statement on Thurs., Apr. 16. Sixteen off-duty officers and some of their children led a rally that began at Phelps Gate and ended at Woodbridge Hall.

Compared to the highly charged Local 34 and 35 protests staged two years ago, the rally was low-key. Off-duty police handed out pamphlets emphasizing the role of the Yale Police on campus and the need for a better contract while shouting words of protest. "I think we got through to the students," Yale Police Benevolent Association (YPBA) Treasurer Christopher Morganti said of the rally.

During Yale's battle with Locals 34 and 35, the entire student population knew of the union's dispute, as a result of petitioning, union coordinated rallies, protests at Woodbridge Hall, and the union's eventual strike. Yale's police union is struggling for the same recognition. The main reason there is minimal support for the union among students is an overall lack of knowledge. "People just don't know," Officer John McKenna said.

Morganti noted that part of the problem results from the unusual shifts officers work, compared to other Yale employees. Yale officers walk beats spaced out in roughly eight-hour shifts throughout the day. Some officers might only be around between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m., for example, while others might only be available from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The dispute poses a double-edged sword for Yale officers. The police must effectively disseminate information about their standoff with the University. They have been distributing pamphlets, helping to organize a Q&A forum, and postering in their attempts to spark student concern.

On the other hand, they must make sure not to anger students with job actions, rallies, and a possible strike vote. Although William McGrath, JE '00, said he didn't favor either side, he hesitated to support the police because of the strategies of Locals 34 and 35 to strike and pit students against the University.

Yale Police are well aware of this dilemma. "It's too bad it has to be like that, but we have to let the students know what's gong on. They have a right to know," McKenna said.

Despite general apathy, there is a student contingent supporting the Yale officers. Recently, three members of the Liberal Party of the Yale PoliticalUnion, Robert Stilling, MC '99, Noel Poyo, MC '98, and Peter Stein, DC '99, formed an independent group that has attempted to inform students on the issues involved in the contractual quarrel. Two weeks ago, they held forum where YPBA chief negotiator, and a few Yale officers fielded questions from students.

But there are multiple obstacles that stand in the way of widespread student involvement. Stein pointed to a lack of centralized action by the union. "They need to be a lot more organized. They don't have the experience or the resources of Locals 34 and 35," he said. Having been formed in the early '90s, the YPBA has had neither the time to accumulate experience in dealing with Yale nor has had the connections to form a national union affiliation. "We'd certainly like to have student support," Morganti said, "[but] we are so small an or-ganization."

Yale's most visible labor organization, the Student Labor Action Coalition (SLAC), has shied away from launching an organized campaign in support of the Yale officers. According to SLAC Chair Katie Unger, BR '98, "We haven't been working on it as a group" even though individual members like Poyo have been active supporters of the union.

Unger attributed SLAC's lack of organized involvement to a number of factors. "There are some SLAC members who have reservations about actively supporting police," she explained. She said that SLAC members are "uniformly in support" of the union, but "it's definitely something that contributes to the fact that current organizing is happening through an informal committee rather than an official organized activity through SLAC."

Unger also said that SLAC might not be the right vehicle for harnessing student support. She noted that SLAC frames issues in a way "that may not appeal" to the general student body. "The committee that is working on it now is probably the best way to organize around police," she said.

In addition, SLAC organizers said that they have concentrated most of their recent energy on helping workers unionize at the Omni Hotel. "It's just a question of focusing your resources," SLAC organizer Terra Lawson-Remer, MC '00, explained. "The fact is that the Omni situation was at a point where we could have a really large impact." Moreover, until recent job actions by the union, Lawson-Remer pointed out that "there was less that we could do directly."

Nonetheless, union supporters say that raising awareness is a crucial ingredient to any union's plight. "Awareness is not what it could be and definitely not what it should be," Lawson-Remer said, "Students are a hard group to break into."

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