On Sunday evening, students celebrated Lerner Hall’s tenth birthday in a CCSC-sponsored study break. But they’re not the only ones who have a reason to rejoice.
For eight Columbia employees who work at Lerner, paying for health care is no longer a concern.
Last month, Columbia’s administrative services and the local UAW 2110 Union‑which represents University employees throughout the city—struck a deal that ended a longstanding grievance and brought eight new employees into the union.
According to Maida Rosenstein, president of the UAW 2110, the union filed a grievance against the University earlier this year on behalf of the Lerner Hall, AV Technician employees, in response to the University’s hiring practices.
Rosenstein and Jennifer Myers, an organizer for 2110, said that the University had hired a group of employees as “temps” and “casuals,” but many were taking on the same workload as full‑time employees in the union. And because the management identified them as outside temps, they were not considered part of 2110 and did not receive any union benefits.
Myers said that the University management violated the 2110 contract, which says that temps can only work for 4 months and beyond that have a right to join the Union.
Rosenstein and Myers both added that the situation was problematic because it was adding temp positions that should have been covered by the union, and this can lead to “erosion” of the bargaining unit, where management utilizes non‑union employees in jobs that have been historically unionized.
“They weren’t really temporary,” Myers said. Rosenstein added of the University, “They had not been forthright about it.”
Rosenstein said that the violation was also very apparent to union representatives. Speaking of the temps, she said, “They were very consistently working at Columbia. It looked pretty bad for the University. It looked like this was clearly work that had been done by union members‑how could they say that these other workers could not have the benefits of the contract?”
The University ultimately responded to the grievance by restructuring Lerner technician employees, by cutting down the total number of AV technicians, and by bringing eight remaining employees on as full‑time unionized tech staff members, with all of the 2110 benefits.
Scott Wright, vice president for campus services, said in an e‑mail statement, “The demand for AV/Tech services at Columbia University has grown significantly over the past several years. As business grew, additional positions were added to the AV/Tech team. Some of these additional positions were in fact covered by a union collective bargaining agreement.”
In response to inquiries regarding the labor practices, Wright added, “As part of labor relations, the University engages in ongoing discussions with its unions, but it does not as a matter of policy discuss personnel issues or disclose details of union discussions or settlements.”
Bill Sheehan, assistant director for technical services for University Event Management, declined to comment, deferring to Campus Services.
For the union representatives and eight newly unionized employees, the ultimate compromise was a positive one—and a surprise.
“It’s kind of an unusual situation. The University has been generally pretty resistant to agreeing voluntarily to recognize the union,” Rosenstein said.
Myers said, “It was a good resolution in this case,” adding, “We wish this would be the way we could resolve conflicts with them more often.”
Prior to this change, there were more employees working tech jobs in Lerner, but now there are only eight with full‑time positions. It is unclear at this time how this could affect operations if at all.
Wright said in a follow‑up statement, “Lerner Hall AV/Tech staffing is in no way related to the rates charged to students for AV/Tech services. If in the future changes are considered, the decision will be based on overall cost of service and business needs.”
And Rosenstein said, “Perhaps there are less individual people,” but added, “They are making permanent jobs.”
Walter Chang, an audiovisual technician who joined the union as a part of this agreement, said, “I wouldn’t be aware of any changes financially, but our staff did decrease which might cause problems down the line.”
But for the eight employees now in the Union, the additional benefits and job security are the most important parts of this resolution. Under 2110 contract, they now have new rights, including health care and tuition benefits, paid sick and vacation days, employee rights protection, and more frequent and structured work hours.
For Barry Mason, one of the recently unionized AV technicians, the resolution was a pleasant surprise. “It was something that we weren’t really expecting. It just happened,” he said.
Though he said not much has practically changed, he said, “At least you know how much money you’re going to make at the end of the week.” He added that job security during recession is a huge perk of his new job. “The way the market is now, a lot of people aren’t working,” he said.
Mason added that, prior to the structural changes, many felt that the situation was not right. “There was one set of rules for one group, and a different set of rules for another,” he said, speaking of what seemed to him an arbitrary division between union and non‑union employees doing the same work. “But now it is more of a balanced thing,” he added.
Rosenstein added that beyond the contract benefits, these employees to the union can create a better work environment and strengthen 2110’s presence at Columbia. “You have no rights in the workplace other than minimal labor protection. And in certain places you don’t have those protections,” she said of non‑union work forces.
For Chang, the addition of health care makes a big difference. “It feels great finally knowing that I have health care. Even though I’m very healthy, I’m glad to know I have that security,” Chang said.
He added, though job security was not a major issue personally because he freelances, he appreciated the new full‑time position. “It’s a lot better that we are actually Columbia employees.”
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