College employees protest in favor of pensions, benefits

Months of contract negotiations for many Vassar College employees may be coming to an end. Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 200 United, who work in areas such as Buildings and Grounds, Custodial Services and Campus Dining, have been in the process of renewing their contract since July 1, 2008, when their 2005 contract expired. Approximately 250 College employees belong to SEIU.

Negotiations between the College and the union have been difficult. On Thursday, Oct. 16, approximately 200 employees held a demonstration outside of Main Building. A similar demonstration was held the following day, which about 100 people attended. Faculty members, students and campus employees participated in the rallies, which Vice President of the Local 200 United Mike Lonigro thought were "well and broadly attended."

On both days, the workers marched from the All Campus Dining Center, through the College Center, and ended in Main Circle. The demonstration began around noon and ended around 12:30 p.m. The two demonstrations were held to coincide with the meeting of the Board of Trustees on campus.

Retirement health benefits are emerging as the central concern of this year's negotiations. "Health care is in a crisis situation in our society," said Lonigro. "And nowhere more so than for senior citizens, particularly retired senior citizens. Too often, it's a choice between a worker paying for his wife's prescription or putting food on the table every night."

The previous contract, which went into effect on July 1, 2005, expired on June 30, 2008. Employees and College administrators also faced disagreements three years ago, and health benefits were also a primary concern in those negotiations. That negotiation, too, saw demonstrations, including one student-organized protest on Sept. 8, 2005 that drew more than 100 participants in support of SEIU.

Currently, Vassar's SEIU employees pay for post-retirement medical expenses using a combination of Medicare and Vassar's pension plan, in which the College uses a formula to calculate pension after retirement. "It's not a bad plan, and we're happy to continue with it," said Lonigro. However, the union is pushing for a pension increase, citing the ballooning cost of healthcare and prescription drugs. "The cost of medication has increased substantially," continued Lonigro.

SEIU representatives have pushed the College to adopt a union-based healthcare plan, which would provide greater retirement benefits to employees. However, this plan would require the College to sign on to a multi-employer healthcare pension plan stipulating that, should the health care insurance provider for the employees go bankrupt, the College would cover the retirees' medical bills. The College would then have to dip into its budget to pay for these bills.
                                  
According to Associate Vice President for Human Resources Ruth Spencer, the College does not want to risk "legal and fiscal liability of College assets should something go wrong" by signing on to the SEIU post-retirement medical plan.

"At this point, we are trying to tie up details, [but] a post-retirement health plan is not on the table," she said.

Spencer believes that current health coverage for employees is excellent compared to the coverage at other institutions.

"[Members of the SEIU] are the only employee group that doesn't contribute co-pays, pay no deductibles and have no premium contribution for themselves, their spouses or their dependents," she said. "That is a very rich plan and almost unheard of in the rest of the world."

Spencer noted the pressures placed on the College given the current economic crunch. "The pie is much smaller," she said. "And sure, you can keep cutting the pie into the same number of pieces, but each piece is smaller and smaller."

Most union representatives did not have great sympathy for the College's current financial position.

"A $1 billion institution doesn't have to sweat the bills for a lot of things here, and the bills shouldn't come off of your backs," said Lonigro through a bullhorn to a crowd of workers at the Oct. 17 demonstration.

Local 200 United represents employees with similar jobs at both Marist College and Bard College.

Marist agreed to adopt the union-based healthcare plan, while Bard adopted a system whereby workers may retire at age 60, and the College will pay 50 percent of their health care costs for the rest of their lives.

"This wasn't the union plan," Lonigro noted, "but we're open-minded. We're willing to work with administrations to devise the best system of care for our employees."

Despite ongoing progress, many employees engaging in the demonstrations were visibly angry at the administration and fearful of their financial situations, especially given the current economy.

"What they're doing is really inhuman," said one custodial worker who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "I've been working here for 25 years, and every year it feels like it's for less and less. They don't understand what it takes to work in a place like this," she continued.

"I think they should all take a turn doing the cleaning, doing the electrical work, going down the plumbing holes."


Spencer was surprised at the workers' accusations, particularly those surrounding the strength of health benefits.

"One question seems to be, to what degree are they aware of what benefits are like outside of Vassar? For some workers, particularly those with such great longevity at the College, they might not realize what it would not like not to have Vassar's benefit structure," she said.

The next stage of negotiations is slated to take place on Oct. 30. Many seemed optimistic that a settlement would be reached, particularly after the Oct. 24 negotiating session, though Lonigro noted that the negotiations are often an uphill battle.

"Today there was a little movement," he said following the session. "We're seeing some progress, and I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll reach a settlement."

Vice President for the Union on Vassar's campus Cathy Bradford, was also optimistic about the negotiations.

"We're mainly talking about the pension plan and health benefits," said Bradford. "But it sounds like we're going somewhere. [The administration] is getting tired. I hope they're getting tired."