About Us

Yale University has, over the years, become a good place to work—decent pay, good benefits, fair promotions and grievance procedures—and much of what makes it good is the presence of an active, concerned, committed union of employees pressing constantly for improvement.

As a union, Local 34 is dedicated to

• Upholding the dignity of our work,

• Fighting racism and sexism,

• Maintaining a democratic, visionary and effective organization, and

• Working with other unions, community and political organizations to improve the lives of all working women and men in the greater Yale and New Haven communities.

Affiliated with the UNITE HERE International Union, Local 34, Federation of University Employees represents over 3,000 Yale clerical and technical employees (C&Ts) of many ages, backgrounds, talents and opinions.  It was certified on May 18, 1983, and it has been a strong and creative presence on our campus ever since. Most of Yale’s C&Ts are included in our bargaining unit and are eligible to become Union members. Click here for a PDF of our Bylaws.

Members

Members are the backbone of the union and the source of our collective strength.

The democracy of our union comes from high member participation in quarterly membership meetings and departmental activities.  Members are also involved in committees working on best practices, new employee orientation, daycare, and health and safety issues.  From time to time we come together to act on a common issue.

Department Committees 

Department Committees are composed of active Union leaders within each department who take responsibility for implementing Union programs and communicating with the members in that department. 

Teams 

There are two teams, one from each area of the campus – Central/Science and Medical -- which are comprised of the active Union members in that particular area.  The teams’ purpose is to determine how best to implement programs of the Union and monitor their progress and to bring any problems to the attention of the Executive Board.

Executive Board

The Executive Board is comprised of 50 active and committed members of the Union, each of whom represents one or more departments around the campus.  Each Board member is elected by the Union members in a geographic District comprised of approximately 60 members.

The Board’s purpose is to discuss and plan the policies and programs of the Union and make recommendations to the membership.  The Executive Board normally meets once a month unless extraordinary events require additional meetings. 

To find the Executive Board member for your department, click here.

Officers

The officers of Local 34 include a President, four Vice Presidents, Secretary-Treasurer, Recording Secretary, three Chief Stewards, and three Organizers.  All officers are elected by a vote of the membership.

The Vice Presidents, Secretary-Treasurer, and Recording Secretary serve in their positions in addition to their regular Yale jobs and are not paid by the Union.  The President and the Chief Stewards devote full time to Union business, and the Union pays a portion of their salary, with Yale paying the rest.  The three Organizer officers work full-time for Local 34 and are fully paid by the Union.

Trustees   Three Trustees supervise the property of the Union and submit an itemized inventory thereof each year.  They audit the books of the Secretary-Treasurer and verify the financial reports and annual audit required by the International Constitution. The Trustees are elected by vote of the membership.  They serve in their positions in addition to their regular Yale jobs and are not paid by the Union.

Additional Organizing Staff

There are additional paid staff organizers whose full-time job it is to help run the Union on a day-to-day basis.  These staff organizers are paid by the Union and subject to approval by the membership.  During and just before contract negotiations, other paid organizers may be hired on a temporary basis. Click here for the current staff organizers.

A Responsive and Dynamic Union Structure

In the last year, Local 34 has undertaken a process of internal review to find ways of generating new leadership and increasing our membership participation and satisfaction. To these ends, the Local 34 Working Group, a committee of members, organizers, staff, and union officers, has come up with recommendations to build our internal strength.