Our Alliances

Local Alliances:
The Federation of Hospital and University Employees

In New Haven, Local 34 is a member of the Federation of Hospital and University Employees, an umbrella organization for all of the workers affiliated with Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital. The Federation includes Local 34, Local 35—the University’s service and maintenance employees, GESO—the union of graduate teachers and researchers at Yale, and the hospital workers at Yale New Haven Hospital, whose organizing drive is affiliated nationally with SEIU Local 1199.

Local 34 and the other members of the Federation have worked hard over the last decade to form a lasting partnership with the New Haven community, and have worked closely with the Connecticut Center for a New Economy (CCNE) to build and sustain these vital community relationships.  Local 34, Local 35 and GESO are autonomous organizations with their own decision-making and leadership structure. The three unions on campus work separately to advocate for their respective memberships while sharing techniques, resources, and other kinds of support. Together with SEIU District 1199 of hospital workers at Yale-New Haven Hospital, we have worked to raise the standards for all workers at Yale.

Through the Federation, Local 34 members can and do take an active role in New Haven affairs. On various issues such as the comprehensive Community Benefits Agreement between Yale-New Haven Hospital and the surrounding Hill neighborhood signed in 2006, Local 34 has worked closely with CCNE and  CORD (Community Organized for Responsible Development) and to ensure that proposed developments in the city maximally benefit its residents.

Local 34 believes that all workers at Yale have a right to union representation, and we also believe that Yale has a responsibility to the community in which we live and work. Therefore many Local 34 members actively support attempts workers at the Yale-New Haven hospital and the graduate teachers and researchers to unionize.

Our Parent Union:  UNITE HERE

As a union, Local 34 is nationally affiliated with UNITE HERE. UNITE (the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) and HERE (Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union) merged on July 8, 2004 forming UNITE HERE. The union represents more than 450,000 active members and more than 400,000 retirees throughout North America.

UNITE HERE boasts a diverse membership, comprised largely of immigrants and high percentages of African-American, Latino, and Asian-American workers. The majority of UNITE HERE members are women.
UNITE HERE’s top priority is organizing the unorganized in our industries. Over 50% of the new union’s national budget will go toward organizing. Current major organizing campaigns are underway at Cintas, Hilton, H&M, and the gaming industry. In the past five years, the two unions have organized more than 100,000 new members.

Our connection to the international is both personal and practical. Many of the leaders of UNITE HERE, including the Co-President, John Wilhelm, came out of drives here in New Haven. The unions at Yale have a strong and vibrant history, and we have generated leadership for the entire labor movement. GESO, Local 34, Local 34 and CCNE collectively have sent out leaders to Chicago, Phoenix, Florida, Philadelphia, Toronto, Boston, Chicago, Mississippi, Oregon, and cities throughout California. Together, we are leading the labor movement in our fight for working families.

For more information, see the UNITE HERE website.