News

Compromise reached between USLAC and Bennet

By A. Larrison Campbell
Assistant News

The members of the United Student Labor Action Coalition (USLAC) and President Doug Bennet have finally reached a compromise on a Code of Conduct to enforce employment standards for service contractors at Wesleyan.

The Code, which will become effective at the start of next semester, covers all workers hired by service contractors with an annual University contract above $50,000. This includes not only campus janitors but also food service workers and any other workers the University may contract in the future.

Included among the Code’s standards for full time employees are a minimum total compensation of $10.20 per hour, which includes wages and benefits, participation in a health plan offered by the contractor and job protection for when Wesleyan changes contractors.

In addition, the University will form a Code Compliance Board to review and hear complaints about the Code and report information to the Administration.

"This is definitely an enforceable code," Bennet said. "It’s not just poetry but something we have the capacity to insist our contractors fulfill."

Although negotiations began April 18, the Code is actually one of the final steps in a months-long fight for the rights of the University’s subcontracted workers, according to many  members of USLAC. 

Late last semester, USLAC members met with Bennet to discuss Wesleyan’s role in the efforts of its janitors to become unionized. In February, USLAC held a rally encouraging student support for the janitors.

This activism culminated in a two day sit-in at the Office of Admission on April 4 and 5, which members of USLAC ended on the provision that Bennet agree to sign a Code of Conduct.

"The occupation ended because we saw a contract between initial and the union, and because Bennet finally agreed to negotiate the Code by the end of the year," said Olivia deBree ’01, a member of USLAC.

According to Sarah Norr ’02, one of five USLAC members who negotiated the Code with Bennet, the Code of Conduct was intended to ensure certain minimum standards for all current and future workers hired by the University through a subcontractor.

"We really just want to guarantee that all workers on campus get treated fairly," Norr said. "That includes future workers, too, because what we got at our sit-in was only for one particular group of workers who work for one company. There are a lot of workers now on this campus and there will be in the future. We want to make sure they stay protected, too."

Over the course of the negotiations, Bennet and the members of USLAC agreed to alter certain conditions outlined in the original version.

Bennet said he feels that this compromise has strengthened the Code.

"[The negotiation] was a good effort all the way along," Bennet said. "We had to be sure the code we developed was durable and I have great admiration for the USLAC leaders and their knowledge."

Although many members of USLAC said they are pleased with the outcome of the negotiations, a number said they also feel that much more needs to be done to complete their goal.

"I’m very happy with what we have," Norr said. "I think everything in the Code is good, but I think there is other stuff that should be there but isn’t."

"It’s a definite step in the right direction in terms of the University recognizing some responsibility," said USLAC member Ari Yampolsky ’00. "But it’s clear to us that there’re glaring holes in it as well."

One point, some USLAC members said they were worried about card-check neutrality. Currently the Code specifies that employers can express their choice regarding different forms of unionization.

Members of USLAC say that unless the employers are forced to agree not to ask their workers to unionize through the slower, less reliable "card-check" method, the workers’ chances of unionizing are jeopardized.

"Card-check is really a stalling method for the employer," Norr said. "It gives the National Labor Relations Board [NLRB] 60 days to conduct an election on the unionization. In this time the employer can conduct an anti-union campaign with employers or keep appealing it. It can take years."

However, Director of University Communications, Justin Harmon, said that in the Code, the University was mainly trying to keep itself from becoming involved in affairs.

"As a third party, we don’t feel we have the prerogative to take extra-legal steps that could compromise the rights of any party in the unionization process," Harmon said. "We’ve tried to establish minimum standards to see that members of the community are treated fairly, but we can’t insert ourselves into every situation or say we know what the best solution for every issue is."

Bennet and members of USLAC agreed that this Code will not be the last word in workers’ rights on campus.

"This is and will continue to be a work in progress," Harmon said. "We have a set of points we agreed will be included in the code that goes in force in the fall, and we are getting legal advice to make sure they stand up. We don’t believe this is the last word on standards for service contractors, but we have a solid foundation we may find ways to improve upon."

"I think it’s hopeful that they’re looking at it as something that can be developed," Yampolsky said. "The flip side is, though, that the community here will have to remain very vigilant. We want to make this as strong as possible to avoid any problems in the future."