THE MIRROR Independent student newspaper
Week of October 4, 2023
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Vol. 50 Issue 3
Facilities Management Union Demands Better Working Conditions BY BROOKE LATHE Executive Editor
MAX LIMRIC
Managing Editor
The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30 labor force is nearing its seventh month in negotiations with departmental and administrative leadership at Fairfield University. The discussion of a new collective bargaining agreement began on March 8. Director of Special Projects of IUOE Local 30 Andres Puerta shares that the union is discussing the issues that are important to the facilities workers on campus, such as “safety, wages, benefits, etc.” Puertas references the death of a contractor who tragically died while working on Fairfield University’s Central Utilities Facility on May, 31 2022. He states that “these negotiations fall on the heels of the death of a worker, a contractor, on campus last year.” In 2019, the union protested on campus and demanded unionized health care, as covered by The CT Post. Now, four years later, through these current negotiations, they are “holding the university accountable for safety issues as well as issues like livable wages and good benefits for families,” claims Puertas. Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Jennifer Anderson ‘97, MBA ‘02, speaks on behalf of the university’s facilities department, sharing that “over the past several months, progress has been made on many areas of mutual interest and the University is committed to reaching a new multi-year agreement that is beneficial to the University and our union employees.” Puertas cites invoices of differing positions that the administration was obligated to hand over as a result of an information request that the union made in preparation for negotiations. He states “that there are two landscapers who are employed by the administration and part of the facilities department.” He then displays invoices from Allstate Landscaping, explaining that “the administration should be relying on employees to perform a vast majority of the work on
campus and adding employees if necessary.” Puertas continues that “the introduction of contractors, for example, to perform landscaping duties takes away jobs from the facilities department while introducing exorbitant costs to students, which we are confident are reflected in tuition bills.” Furthermore, contractors and union workers are given different titles for the same job responsibilities which results in incongruent pay. An example pay rate includes “Group Leader Grounds” for an hourly payment of $28.13 wherePhoto Courtesy of CT Post as a “Groundskeeper” is given $20.90 per hour. Facilities Management workers displayed an International Union of Operating Engineers flag The invoices detail how the as they publicly protested for health care benefits in 2019. These demands remain present as Allstate contractors earn more negotiations are currently underway. compared to university employees, and in some cases, Puertas been shared with the Union.” “While individual circumstances may vary, in-house staff states that they “earn double what the facilities workers earn per benefit from full-time employment, competitive wages comhour.” “What exactly is the reason that the facilities department pared to [the] market, extremely generous benefits including has a grounds crew, yet hundreds of thousands of dollars a year a 9% retirement plan, free tuition programs for University deare spent on grounds contracting? Wouldn’t it be more cost-ef- pendents and paid time off. Outsourced workers may not always fective, and ethical, to use those funds to provide good jobs in have year-round employment available or a comprehensive benefits package,” Anderson shared. the facilities department?” Puertas asks. While Andres acknowledges that contractors are not proAccording to Anderson, “As the University has shared with the Union, the University outsources work only in cer- vided with benefits such as healthcare, he poses the question: tain circumstances, specifically where: the size of the project “Why is the administration contributing to the healthcare crinecessitates external resources, our existing personnel lack the sis by not demanding that any worker on campus have sufficient necessary expertise, a permit is required for the work and/or healthcare?” Puertas goes on to explain that these benefits are not suffiparticular time constraints require external staffing.” She then references recent data that shows that Fairfield cient for the union members, however—especially in healthcare. University “pays competitively relative to the market which has He describes that the union has come up with its own health plan CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Heroic Senior Student Fights Small Fire in Barnyard Manor BY MAX LIMRIC Managing Editor
INSIDE
The residents of a townhouse on 22 block in Barnyard Manor are being hailed as heroes after they sprung into action late Sunday night, Sept. 30, to put out a small fire that started as a result of a candle in a neighboring townhouse. On their Facebook page, The Fairfield Fire Department shares that “Last evening, the Fairfield County Regional Dispatch Center received a frantic 911 call from a student at Fairfield University reporting a ‘fire’ inside her townhouse unit.” In her call, “she reported that visible fire was seen when she made her way back to her room.” Luckily, thanks to the quick thinking and selfless actions of Thomas McDuff ‘24, the fire did not spread past the student’s desk. McDuff first spotted the fire while watching the movie “Wedding Crashers”. When he “heard the alarm going off in the house next door,” he “immediately looked out the window and saw smoke and flames coming out the window.”
In a truly stereotypical college fashion, McDuff utilized the lawn game version of pong they had sitting outside to extinguish the fire. Using the oversized cups in a bucket brigade style, he “rushed back inside and filled up one of the large cups with water” and got to work. Initially, McDuff attempted to douse the fire from the sidewalk, but he “realized that if [he] popped the screen out in [his] roommate’s wroom, [he] could have access to the roof and get a much easier shot at the fire.” When asked why he didn’t wait for the Department of Public Safety (DPS) or for the Fairfield Fire Department to respond, he claims “I didn’t want to wait for the fire department as I could tell the fire was small enough that I wouldn’t get hurt and, at the very least, I could help delay the spread until the fire department arrived.” “Once I got on the rooftop and in front of the fire I saw nearly everything on the girl’s desk aside from her laptop lit up. Luckily, I was able to spread out the water from the pong cup to put the entire fire out without having to go back inside,” he continues.
Junior Frances Harmon, a resident of the townhouse affected by the fire, testified about McDuff’s heroic act. “He literally climbed the wall like Spiderman … and I’m pretty sure he was in his slippers,” Harmon said. “If I knew he wanted to put the fire out, I would’ve opened the door for him.” McDuff’s actions were successful as “when firefighters made entry, it was discovered that the fire had already been extinguished,” writes the Fairfield Fire Department. Upon investigation, Assistant Chief Phil Higgins “found an unattended candle had caught nearby combustibles on fire.” According to the National Fire Protection Association, more than one-third of home candle fires started in the bedroom. Niquita Dietrich, associate director of leadership development and formation for the Office of Residence Life, refers students to the Student Handbook to learn more about preventative measures for fires. She also directs students to the handbook, which outlines prohibited items that can affect fire safety. Jennifer Anderson ‘97, MBA ‘02, adds that
“the University reminds[s] students that candles are not permitted in residence halls.” In addition, there were no injuries sustained and the University expresses their gratitude for the students’ actions. Anderson states, “The University would like to thank those that responded quickly to this incident.” The Fairfield Fire Department attests to the contribution of McDuff’s heroic actions. “The quick actions of this student clearly limited the growth and spread of this fire,” they state. McDuff also comments on the response his actions garnered from professionals. “The firefighters were surprisingly really happy with my actions, which was great. One firefighter called me a hero and a DPS officer referred to my actions as ‘sick’,” he adds. Junior Erica Adams, who also lives in the affected townhouse, echoes the firefighter’s sentiments and thanks McDuff for his actions. “We were all so grateful that a good samaritan acted so quickly and successfully to minimize the damage. In the heat of the moment, we were all so confused and scared and we were grateful that someone stepped up.”
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