Six weeks later, facilities workers still impacted by scheduling changes

It has been a little over six weeks since five facilities workers were switched to a Tuesday-Saturday schedule from the Monday-Friday schedule they were hired to work, and workers say that dissatisfaction is still high as they grapple with the effects of the change.

“I think overall morale is definitely down,” said Jack Ng, a driver who was switched to the Tuesday-Saturday schedule. “It’s been a big topic among a lot of the guys there. And there’s been talk about leaving, too, because [workers] don’t like the schedule changes.”

The schedule change, which went into effect on Sept. 5, according to Senior Facilities Director Stephen Nasson, is the subject of an unfair labor practices charge filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Tufts University by 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the union that represents the facility workers. The NLRB is still investigating whether the university failed to bargain appropriately with the workers about the schedule change as the union claims, according to Regional Communications Manager for the New England branch of 32BJ SEIU, Eugenio Villasante.

Loss of Overtime

Many workers are dissatisfied with this schedule change because they say it has decreased the number of available overtime hours. All seven of the facilities workers interviewed for this article, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity except Ng, said that there are fewer opportunities to receive overtime pay, as the majority of overtime slots were on Saturday and are now being taken by full-time workers.

“I’m no longer eligible for overtime on Saturdays ... when the majority of the overtime is,” said an anonymous worker who works on the Tuesday-Saturday schedule.

He estimated that with the deduction in overtime pay, he is losing $820 a week, which he said makes it difficult for him to make financial plans.

“I’m trying to buy a house, get my life started, and now I have to put everything on hold because I don’t know if that money is going to be there anymore,” he said.

Nasson wrote in an email before the schedule change was made that there may be more Monday overtime available, giving Saturday shift workers who are off on Monday a chance to make extra money. Yet one worker said that overtime slots were usually sparse on Mondays.

Nasson recently said that while he does not know for certain if overtime shifts have decreased, the schedule change was made too recently to ascertain its long-term impact on overtime.

Administrators’ stated purpose for the change was to use Saturday for work that couldn’t be done during the week, such as special projects and noisy work that would be distracting during class time.

However, workers say that Saturday work differs little from that which is done Monday through Friday. One worker said that he thinks that the real purpose of the Tuesday-Saturday shift was to decrease overtime hours.

“They’re not doing noisier work -- we’re still doing it Tuesday-Friday. The number one [purpose of the change is] to eliminate overtime,” they said.

Director of Campus Services Gary Hill said that while the reduced labor costs that would come from fewer overtime shifts were noted when the schedule change was made, they were not the primary motivating factor.

"Although it was anticipated that overtime would be reduced -- resulting in cost savings -- the primary operational goals are to provide enhanced routine services in combination with the ability to respond to unexpected related services and to schedule projects," Hill told the Daily in an email.

Unfilled Worker Positions

Another source of dissatisfaction is that the Tuesday-Saturday crew is short two members. Nasson said that the crew would consist of seven people, five current workers and two new hires. However, these two additional workers have yet to be hired.

Nasson said that Facilities plans to hire an arborist and a groundskeeper for the Tuesday-Saturday schedule, two job classifications that do not yet exist in the current bargaining agreement, as most facility workers are classified as either “utility worker” or “driver.” These positions must be approved by Human Resources and the union, which is why Nasson said there has been a delay in the hiring process.

Nasson said there is value in hiring an arborist.

“We’re trying to be more efficient," he said. "Right now any tree work, branching, pruning, trimming; we subcontract [for that].”

Yet this still does not explain why the Tuesday-Saturday shift started for current workers before new workers were hired.

“I have no answer except the sooner we got started the better we were going to be, and the beginning of the semester seemed like a good time to start,” Nasson said in response.

Hill said that starting the shift earlier would help workers get used to the new shift as soon as possible.

Workers are divided about whether adding two new workers to the Tuesday-Saturday schedule will have a positive or negative impact. Some workers already on this schedule welcome a source of additional help for what they see as a heavier workload on Saturdays.

“It would relieve a little bit of pressure in terms of workload and things like that ... if we had two extra people,” one worker said, noting, however, that he does not currently feel “overworked” on the current five-member team.

Hill explained that the two additional members will give the Saturday crew more flexibility.

"The original plan was to begin the Tuesday through Saturday schedule with five employees and a grounds supervisor. After further assessment, it was decided to increase the staff to seven employees," he said. "This will ensure there’s adequate staff to support routine and scheduled special events while also having the flexibility to respond to unscheduled services and activities and inclement weather."

Yet another worker said that hiring new workers for the Tuesday-Saturday shift could establish this schedule as the norm.

Another worker was concerned that the Tuesday-Saturday crew would continue to grow, allowing fewer opportunities for Monday-Friday employment.

Workers were also concerned that if the Tuesday-Saturday schedule was the norm, senior members on this schedule would never get an opportunity to switch back to a Monday-Friday arrangement.

“What will end up happening [is administrators] will keep hiring people for this shift [and there will be] no pathway for [employees to leave this schedule]," a worker said.

However, Nasson said he envisions a pathway to allow senior workers to change schedules.

“As people leave or jobs open or we add, we’ll give [more senior workers] opportunities to [work] Monday-Friday,” he said, noting that such a plan must be negotiated with the union before it is finalized.

Additional Administrative Position Added

Workers also expressed dissatisfaction that while the two Saturday schedule workers have not yet been hired, an additional administrator had. Greg Mellett was hired as Grounds and Labor Manager, a newly created position, and started on Oct. 3, according to Nasson.

“They keep hiring more bosses and no more workers,” one worker said.

Nasson said Mellett was hired partially to learn the ropes from current Ground Support Services SupervisorJesse Carreiro, who is likely to retire soon.

“We would be down about 70 years worth of experience,” Nasson said, referring to the combined experience of Carreiro and another supervisor who recently retired. “So the idea is to bring somebody in a little bit early so when Jesse does decide to retire we would have somebody to fill the spot.”

Yet Nasson said Mellett will also fill distinct roles apart from shadowing Carreiro. Mellett will technically be supervising both Carreiro and Ground Support Services Supervisor James Doyle, allowing these supervisors to spend more time in the field while he focuses on hiring, project planning, budget and other similar responsibilities, Nasson said.

A Changed Work Environment

With all the impacts of the schedule changes, whether perceived or real, piling up, some workers say that the work environment has changed.

Many workers attribute these changes in schedule, overtime and work environment to Hill, who was hired in June 2015.

"Gary Hill has definitely made the work environment very hostile, turned workers against workers," one worker said.

While Hill said he was behind the Tuesday-Saturday schedule change, his intent was to better the university.

Nasson said he knows that morale is low among workers, and acknowledged that if he were changed to a Tuesday-Saturday schedule, he too would probably be unhappy about it. However, he hopes that workers can see the purpose behind the change.

“I suffer with it because I don’t want to turn anybody’s life upside down either,” Nasson said. “My job is to make sure that we’re operating as efficiently as possible with the resources that I have. This made sense and it’s something that I had to do for the betterment of the university so I can take a kick every once in a while.”