Workers backed by AS senate

By Troy Simpson

The student senate passed a resolution last week that calls for Santa Clara to cease employing subcontracted workers on a long-term basis in place of university facilities employees who quit, retire or leave their positions for other reasons.

"It was important to show the workers on campus that the students at Santa Clara University do understand the concerns that they have â€" that we're validating them as employees and as human beings," sophomore Senator Amparo Cid said.

The resolution came in the wake of concerns raised to the student senate by some facilities employees and other members of the campus community earlier this month over the university's contracting out of vacant custodial positions to employees of Diversified Maintenance Services.

The resolution also says if Santa Clara chooses to outsource employees, subcontracted workers should be treated with dignity and respect. Additionally, the resolution states that custodial employees should not have to clean the restrooms of members of the opposite sex and that management should respect the rights of working people to reasonable job security, a living wage with benefits, just treatment, safe working conditions and the right to organize in association with trade unions.

Sophomore Senator Mike Rhoads said the resolution wasn't written as an ultimatum, but rather as a way to show university officials this is an important issue to both students and university employees.

"We're not demanding action from the university; we're not saying 'do this or else.' We're saying this is a problem that we feel needs to be addressed," Rhoads said.

Cid said she helped write the resolution because facilities employees have expressed fears of losing their jobs.

"It was our belief that they shouldn't (contract out), and the reason why they shouldn't do it is because the workers that are here - regardless of whether or not there is actually a reason to fear losing their jobs - they do fear it," Cid said.

Although Facilities Director Jeff Charles declined to comment on the situation, citing ongoing contract negotiations as the reason for choosing not to speak, he said in an interview last month that workers shouldn't be concerned about losing their jobs to DMS employees.

"We have over a period of time, when a position becomes vacant, moved that workload to DMS. That's more efficient. Nobody's lost their job and nobody's hours have been reduced. The contract allows us to do that," Charles said.

The university custodial staff is down to 20 employees from 40 three years ago, according to Service Employees International Union Local 715 Worksite Organizer Leah Berlanga.

DMS employees are represented by SEIU 1877, receive a benefits package that includes medical and dental coverage and make anywhere from $8.04 per hour to $10.04 per hour at Santa Clara, SEIU Local 1877 Regional Vice President Salvador Bustamonte said last month.

Berlanga said that in addition to a comprehensive benefits package, Santa Clara facilities employees make anywhere from $12.92 per hour to $16.99 per hour and can, along with their spouses or children, attend Santa Clara courses for free.

SEIU Local 715, which represents facilities employees on campus at Santa Clara, is currently in the process of contract negotiations with university officials. Berlanga hopes the senate resolution will cause university officials to re-think their plan regarding contracting out employees.

"We are at the final stages of our negotiations and are at that critical point of doing an all out war on the contracting out issue - We still have a grievance in place regarding (this) issue which will be headed to arbitration since there has been no resolution on it," Berlanga said.

Junior Senate Chair Andrea Barrack said that while the resolution is important, the student senate may have passed it too quickly.

"For the amount of time and information the Senators had to make a decision, I understand why they voted to pass it," she said.à "However, I would have appreciated them taking more time to consider the issue once they got some easily attainable administrative information on the subject."

For this reason, Barrack said she is forming a subcommittee in the senate to work with university officials to gain a greater understanding of their position on the subject.

Custodial workers weren't the only employees addressed in the document. The resolution also asked that the university abide by a side letter agreement to the 2000-2003 contract between Santa Clara and campus facilities employees, which states the university must employ a minimum of 46 non-custodial workers.

Charles said the side letter was only valid through June 30, 2003. Although the 2000-2003 contract rolled over, the side letter wasn't a part of the actual contract, and therefore did not, Charles said last month.

"The side letter no longer applies in our opinion," Charles said in an interview last month. "Our legal counsel has advised us the contract is in effect, the side letter has expired. That's where we're at right now."

Members of the Santa Clara Community Action Program are planning a meeting between students and facilities employees in the "Free Speech Zone" (the area between the Multicultural Center and the campus bookstore) today from 12:15 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. to discuss issues regarding facilities employees on campus.

û Contact Troy Simpson at (408) 554-4546 or tsimpson@scu.edu.