NEW HAVEN, Sept. 22 — Despite a settlement last week after a 22-day strike against Yale, workers and labor leaders at the university's teaching hospital rallied today to say Yale's labor problems are not over.þþTwo university unions reached a settlement last week and returned to work. But the members of a third union, dietary workers at Yale-New Haven Hospital, returned to work without a contract. Today, with labor leaders and politicians pledging support, the members vowed that while on the job, they would continue efforts for better wages, pensions and health benefits.þþThe 140 dietary employees at the hospital have had no contract for two years, at odds with hospital management over some of the same issues that stymied talks between the university and the 2,000 clerical, technical, service and maintenance workers who recently went on strike. In addition, union leaders say the majority of Yale-New Haven Hospital's 1,800 clerical, housekeeping and custodial workers and nurses' aides want to unionize but have been intimidated by management.þþÿWe're here to announce there is unfinished business at Yale,ÿ said Jerry Brown, New England president of 1199/S.E.I.U., the health care workers' union. He said dietary workers earned poverty wages, paid huge sums for health care and received horrible pensions. þþThe hospital and the university are legally separate entities that share numerous ties. Yale-New Haven is the teaching hospital for the Yale Medical School. Yale's president is on the hospital board of trustees.þþToday, a hospital spokeswoman, Katie Krauss, said it had no problem with a unionization effort as long as the vote is managed by the National Labor Relations Board.þþBut union leaders say the board has been ineffective in addressing complaints filed by workers.þþMayor John DeStefano Jr. said, ÿI think the hospital will do anything it can to avoid a union forming.ÿþþMs. Krauss said the dietary workers, who earn an average of $12 an hour, were paid better than most workers in similar jobs nationwide. þþMamie Evans, 54, a dietitian at the hospital for 37 years, said, ÿIt's still wages and pensions.ÿ She added, ÿIt was a hard decision to go back on the job, but we came to an agreement that we're going to fight this thing on the inside.ÿþþ
Source: NY Times
