printable versionUnion, university set to return to the bargaining table today
BY MICHAEL PEÑA
University workers represented by Service Employees International Union Local 715 took part in a one-day strike on Dec. 12, setting up picket lines at various campus locations. Some students joined them in a show of solidarity.
Representatives for the university and Service Employees International Union Local 715, which represents 1,460 university technicians, maintenance staff and service workers, return to the bargaining table today to resume negotiations on pension and benefits issues. The university has requested a federal mediator to assist in the talks.
Negotiators for both sides last met on Dec. 13, 2005, a day after a 24-hour labor strike organized by the union. About 90 percent of the university workers who belong to the bargaining unit did not show up for work on Dec. 12, according to Human Resources.
The local also represents a separate bargaining unit of 1,412 service employees at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and Stanford Hospital. And of the 511 hospital employees who were scheduled to work on Dec. 12, hospitals spokeswoman Sarah Staley said 54 percent of them crossed the picket line.
Protesters were orderly and did not cause any major interruptions or delays to normal business, said University Communications Director Alan Acosta. A few incidents of vandalism, however, are under investigation. The acts were said to have taken place at President John Hennessy's private residence and at Building 10, which houses the Office of the President. Also, a number of electric vehicles on campus were overturned, spilling battery acid and requiring a hazardous materials cleanup.
"These acts are contrary to the respect we expect all members of the Stanford community to accord each other and are crimes," stated a Dec. 15 memo to university employees issued jointly by Randy Livingston, vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer, and Greg Boardman, interim dean of student affairs. "Stanford University takes such acts of violence very seriously."
Stanford's Department of Public Safety is investigating the incidents, and the university is offering a reward of $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the responsible individual or individuals. Anyone with information is asked to call the Department of Public Safety, at 723-9633.
On Monday, Dec. 12, picket lines were set up in front of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, the two hospitals, Bonair Siding and several other locations on the main campus. It was the first day of finals week, so many students were either studying or taking exams. Some students joined in the strike and boycotted the dining halls.
At one point, strikers converged on the Graduate School of Business, where the Board of Trustees held its meeting. The crowd remained outside and was vocal but peaceful, said Zev Kvitky, president of United Stanford Workers, the on-campus chapter of SEIU Local 715. He added that he was on campus from dawn till dusk on Dec. 12, and he neither saw nor heard of any unlawful activities committed by union members.
The university hired 75 temporary workers to maintain service in the dining halls on the day of the strike, and volunteers from the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs, the President's Office, Human Resources and dining management helped out as well, Acosta said. Also, a number of union employees who work in dining came in on their day off, the Sunday before the strike, to prepare food for students in advance of their absence, Acosta said.
Bargaining teams for the employees and the university have been meeting since October pursuant to a contract re-opener that applies to a limited number of issues. The university workers' contract expires on Aug. 31.
Hospital service workers who belong to a separate bargaining unit of the local are governed by a separate labor agreement, which had expired on Nov. 13. Late last week, on Jan. 5 and 6, bargaining teams for both sides met for the first time since coming to a stalemate just before Thanksgiving. Staley said no subsequent meetings have been scheduled.