University confident union won't strike

JULIA TIERNAN/YH JOB SECURITY: Yale's police officers met with Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., on Tues., Oct. 20 in an effort to make headway in contract negoatiations with the University.

It took a cancellation by the President of the United States to prevent the 27 month-old dispute between Yale police and University negotiators from potentially boiling over. Yale's Police Benevolent Association (YPBA) was considering a strike to coincide with President Bill Clinton's, LAW '73, Yale Law School reunion.

In an effort to calm things down, Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., once again stepped in as arbiter and met with the police union on Tues., Oct. 20. The Mayor's office played a key role in resolving the Local 34 labor dispute in 1996, but meetings thus far between the two sides and the city have made little headway. DeStefano spokesperson Michael Kuczkowski, declined comment when questioned on the general mood of the meeting. Before the meeting, YPBA Spokesman Chris Morganti said, "Yale's been looking at our policy for a month now. It isn't that complicated."

If it comes down to a strike, University officials say Yale will be ready. "Yale would continue to maintain coverage throughout the campus," Martha Highsmith, associate secretary to the University, said. Highsmith would not get into the specifics of Yale's contingency plan in case of a strike, but said that "police protection would be maintained" and New Haven would consider the University as part of its jurisdiction. In addition, she pointed out that there are a number of security personnel who are not part of the police force and several police supervisors who are not in the union, including Acting Police Chief James Perrotti.

Despite the union's tough talk, University officials do not believe a strike is imminent. "There is no expectation on the University's part that the officers would strike. They have performed professionally and responsibly throughout negotiations," he said.

The major sticking point in negotiations has recently shifted to the issue of disability benefits. Morganti said that Yale's policy for its officers is considerably less comprehensive than that of other police departments. In other police departments, officers would be covered for any accident they incur, regardless of whether or not he or she is in the line of duty.

Yale believes that "[disability] compensation should be the same whether it concerns a police officer or a dining hall worker," Tom Conroy, Yale's acting director of public affairs, said. The University maintains that officers should receive disability benefits only for injuries incurred while doing police work. Also at issue is the fact that disabled officers, unlike other employees, are eligible to take a second job, supplementing up to 40 percent of their regular salary with no reduction in the benefits that they receive.

According to Morganti, the YPBA does not agree that they should be in the same category as other non-unionized workers due to the specific nature of police work. He said the union will continue to push for the benefits to match the nature of the work and the job description, as measured by the benefits offered to police officers elsewhere. Morganti claimed that the officers "have not had a raise in almost two years and have been without a new contract."

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