Negotiations falter
Thursday, October 4, 2007
(The Campus-Times, University of Rochester)THE CAMPUS-TIMES
University of
Rochester
October 4,
2007
Opinion
Negotiations
falter
By The Editorial
Board
Last night, 750 members of the
Service Employees International
Union voted
to authorize the negotiations
committee to set a deadline of
Saturday at
midnight to end talks with UR.
The vote was overwhelming, with
only 13
members voting against the measure.
If an agreement is not reached by
the
proposed deadline, the union workers
will picket. The main point
of
contention is over health benefits, which
the union wants to keep the
same,
but the University plans to cut back
and change.
The SEIU
currently represents about 1,450 service
workers from both the
River Campus
and the UR Medical Center. The average salary
of a full-time
union worker is
$26,000 - just over the federal poverty level
for a family
of five. Five
hundred fifty households supported by members
of the SEIU
live in areas
surrounding the UR River Campus, such as the
19th Ward. Thus,
the standard of
living these employees are able to pursue
directly effects
the community in
which UR is housed.
UR is the largest
employer in the city of Rochester,
and with that comes a
responsibility to the
community that supports it. With
the beginning of a
new contract, the
University has the opportunity to
improve the livelihood
of this community but
is instead choosing to disregard
the union's request.
UR must set an
example and take on a role of
leadership in the treatment of
its
employees. Furthermore, as an educational
institution, it must set an
example to the
students who will be tomorrow's
leaders. It sends a poor
message to students
that UR pays its workers - and
expects them to be able
to support
themselves and perhaps even a family - a
little more than half
of the annual cost
incurred by an individual student to
attend the
University. UR then further
undermines the value of its employees
when it
tries to cut their
benefits.
With very few days left to
negotiate a new contract, UR must stop
holding
out and assume their position
as a leader in the community. The
SEIU
employees deserve a livable wage,
access to expedient promotions and
health
benefits for their families.