Union Seeks Job Security From CU

Waiters, cooks, and other service employees at the Columbia University Faculty House demanded Tuesday that the administration ensure job security in light of a multi-year overhaul of the facility, set to begin next spring.

Members of the facility's staff, most of whom are unionized under Unite Here Local 100, distributed flyers to patrons and voiced concerns that they would lose their jobs when the Faculty House closes for renovations in March. The facility, located on Morningside Drive north of 116th Street, offers high-end dining and catering services to faculty, staff, and graduate students.

"We need to take action," Juan Perez, a waiter who has worked at the facility for 20 years, said. "We deserve better. This is our livelihood."

Employees said that the University has refused to guarantee provisional placement in other campus food service jobs or assure the 30-plus workers-some of them 10- or 20-year veterans of the facility-that they would allowed to return to their jobs when the overhaul was complete.

"We can't trust what's going to happen here," Linda Zucchelli, the evening hostess at the Faculty House, said. "Maybe they'll just close it and rehire who they want."

Myint Swe, who served as a metallurgical assistant and an air traffic controller before coming to the facility 15 years ago, said that he "found that the Faculty House is the most elegant and pleasant place to work in," and that he wants to continue there after the renovation.

Administrators said that it was too soon to speculate about the workers' future employment, noting that the University and Local 100 were still in the initial stages of renegotiating the union's collective bargaining agreement, which expires in March.

"Right now, there's nothing to be happy about, and there's nothing to be sad about," said Maria Gerena, human relations director for the Faculty House. Gerena conceded the "possibility" that Columbia would not have openings elsewhere for all of the current Faculty House employees.

"Whatever the flyers say, I will say is absolutely wrong," Syed Shahidullah, executive director of the Faculty House, said, adding that he was disappointed that the union took the step of distributing the leaflets.

The current collective bargaining agreement, in effect since 2001, states that, "In the event [of] the closing of the Faculty House, the Employer shall make efforts to refer Employees ... to other departments ... where the Employee is qualified to perform the work." According to administrators, the upcoming closure could last anywhere from 18 to 24 months, possibly longer.

Gerena said that before the Faculty House shuts down, management will work with employees individually, evaluate their eligibility for other positions on campus, and, if necessary, help them tailor their resumes for outside employment.

Staff members also said that the University was complicating matters by not communicating its intentions to the facility's employees. "They don't tell us nothing," Perez said. "Zero, zero, zero."

Gerena noted that it is against state and federal labor law for management to speak with individual employees about the collective bargaining process, and that it is the responsibility of the union leadership to keep its members informed.

Officials from Local 100 are scheduled to meet on Wednesday with Gerena and Sheila Garvey, Columbia's director of labor relations, for the next round of contract talks.