Workers Protest Hir” Or New Cleaning Servl .Ufts Connect Billing Plan
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THETUFT DAILY I Where You Read It First Tuesday,, September 2,1997 Volume XXXV, Number 1I Workers protest hir” or new cleaning servl by KAREN EPSTEM a shame that they put that much time and Daily Editorial Board effort into Tufts, and Tufts just treats them Holding signs with statements such as likeanother worker.” “God is not pleased with Tufts,” and dis- Fran Fanning, business agent of Local tributing fliers by Powderhouse Circle, 254 ofthe Service Employees International former mICc0workers continue to pro- Union, the union that represents both ISS test the University’s deci- and UNICCO, said that 43 sion to switch cleaning con- former UNICCO employ- tractors. ees were hired by ISS. With the transition to In- Officials from Local254 ternational Service System and the University main- 3 (ISS)onjuly?O, 1 IOUNICCO tain that all former workers lost their jobs. The UNICCO employeeswere loudest protestors are the 7 1 offered the opportunity to workers who have been here interview with ISS. Many the longest, most of whom former workers, however, were employed by the Uni- refused to accept ISS’s offer of up to $3 less per Daily file photo versity before Tufts first con- UNICCO employees, seen here in front of Anderson Hall, have been protest- hour for most longtime tracted out its cleaning ser- ing Tufts’ decision to switch cleaning contractors. vices in 1994 to UNICCO. workers. Some of these workers, The new contract with Roberto said that there were “cost savings Rees and DaCova, former UNICCO Tufts who had been working on Dailyfilephofo ISS means a wage de- associated with [switching to ISS].” custodians and their negotiating team were the Tufts campus for up- UNICCoworker crease from $12.34 an DaCova and Rees say that ISS can pay not told that the new ISS employees would wards of 20 to 30 years, be- .bnnBrown hour to $9.50 an hour, ac- workers at a lower rate than UNICCO can be voting. iieve the University ended their contract cording to former union shop stewards because most of ISS’s employees are immi- On the day the vote was taken, some with UNICCO as a way to get rid of their David Rees, a seven-year employee at the grants who are much younger than the formerUNlCCOworkersheldarallyoutside older workers. University and Linda DaCova, a 15-year former University employees. of Anderson Hall, where they accused ISS “I feel bad for the people I’ve worked employee. “[ISS] hires immigrant workers and ex- of telling its employees to vote in favor of with over the past nine years who have put The contract also offers a severance ploits them,” Rees said. the new contract. Some former workers out their life for Tufts,” said Eddie packageforfomerworkers. Members of the union voted on ISS’s McAveeney, aforrnerUNICCOworker.‘‘It’s Tufts Vice President ofoperations John new contract on August 19. According to see UNICCO page 21 r Students angry over changes 0 I .ufts Connect billing plan Sy LAUREN HEIST lump all ofthe services under one Students have until Sept. 15 to Daily Editorial Board sum fee, sayingthey feel as ifthey paythe$225 bil1,andthentheprice Tufts Connect has come under are payingfor services which they will riseto$150 per semester. fire again. cannot use if they do not own a If students do not pay, room- Following adecision to pre-bill television or computer. mates will be forced to use their students for telephone, Internet, “I really don’t like it because 1 personal identification (PIN) num- and cable services, many students don’t watch TV,” said sophomore bers when making local calls. and parents have expressed anger Sarah Kim. “They’re giving us Cable, ethernet, andother services over the phone provider’s new something that we don’t use.” will be impossibletodiscontinue if billing plan. FitzGerald said students and one roommate pays and the other Thenew planrequiresstudents parents would not be complaining does not. Students calling local businesses and restaurants-on Boston topay$225 atthe beginningofthe somuch aboutthenew billing plan “We’re still working with the Avenue in Medford will now have to dial an area code. year in orderto receive an ethernet if the University tacked the costs University on other restrictions,” hookup, cable television, call wait- onto the room and board charges. Fitzgerald said. ing, voice mail, and free localcalls. “lfwe had startedoffwith afee “We want the students to use Medford area code Despite somerumors, students structure, it probably wouldn’t be the services. We don’t want to do not have the option of paying as much of an issue now,” he said. shut off service,” he said. “But the $225 fee in monthly install- Sophomore Margaret there also has to be some leverage changed yesterday ments, said Tom FitzGerald, the Tranggono disagrees, saying the from our standpoint to make sure regional director for CampusLink, feeistoomuch,nomatterhow it is we collect the fee.” By PETE SANBORN created to meet an increased de- the parentcompanyofTufts Con- billed. Other students complain that Daily Editorial Board mand for phone exchanges caused nect. “We pay enough for tuition Tufts Connect gave very little While students living in by the a growing number of mo- He added that students must anyway,” she said. notice about the change in billing Medford apartments are only a dems, pagers, fax lines, and cellu- pay foralltheamenitieswhetheror Although many students do plans. “They didn’t give notice short walk from the edge of cam- lar phone lines. not they want them. not agree with the changes made and that’s what kind of shocked pus,theywill havetobegin dialing Despite the change in area “We used choices last year; to Tufts Connect’s billing plan, me,” saidone sophomore.“I think an area code each time they make codes, calls made to the new 781 that wasn’t theanswer,”FitzGerald they do not have any recourse to calls to Tufts or other Somerville code from Somerville will not be said. rectify the situation. see BILLING page 20 locations. considered toll calls. In an infor- Lastyear, Tufts Connect billed Beginning yesterday, NYNEX mational mailing distributed by each room $32 a month for tele- officially implemented twonew area NYNEX, the company stressed phone service, voice mail and codes for regions that had for years that the changes will not have an ethernet access. Cable television fallen under the 617 or 508 area effect on calling plans. and call waiting were optional codes. Whileonly halfoftheTufts Limo driver had .175 alcohol level While the 617 area code will charges, billed in addition to the Los Angeies Times-Washington campus is situated in Medford, continue to work for calls made to monthly telephone charge. Post News Service the entire Tufts campus will con- Medford forthenext few months, ’ FitzGerald said students living PARIS-Themandriving the limousinein whichPrincessDiana tinue to use the 61 7 area code for callsusing617 will not go through in single rooms last year com- was killed was legally drunk, with more than three times the lawful on-campus phone numbers. after December I, 1997. plained that they were required level ofalcohol in his bloodasheracedthrough central Paris at speeds Medford, Arlington, Waltham, Students living off-campus in pay the full $32 a month, while of more than 1 10 mph, French sources said Monday. and Woburn are among the 50 Medford have already begun to students in doubles and triples A coupleofhericantourists, meanwhiIe,camefo~ardto paint communities surrounding Boston feel the effects of the change. Se- could split the cost for basic ser- a grisly, ghoulish tableau of the scene of Diana’s fatal injuries, with which were assigned the new 78 1 nior Richelle Berard said she had vice. photographers crowding within inches of the dying, moaning prin- areacode,while 78othercommu- tomakechanges toall ofhergradu- This year, the students in cess and other bloodied victims to snap their pictures and shoving nities north of Boston, including ate school applicationsafterlearn- doubles and triples are complain- aside police who tried to keep them ab a distance. Beverly, Salem, and Lowell, had ing of the area code change from ing. Authorities indicated at least some of the seven photographers their area code changed to 978. her sister. “It’s really unfair, I think,” said who had been chasing Dianaon motorcycles andwere detained after Only the 12 communities in the “I have been applying to vet- sophomoreChenxi Dong. “We pay the accident could be charged with vioIating France’s “Good Samari- heartofBoston will retain the617 erinary school. I had to white-out double the money for one cable tan” law that requires people to help others in distress. area code. my phone number on all of my hookup.” Diana, 36, was mortally injured in thehigh-speed According to the phone com- Students and parents have also see DIANA page 22 pany, the new area codes were see AREA CODES page 20 complained about the decision to I )agetwo THETUFTS DAILY Tuesday, September 2,1997 THETUFTS DAILY- __ - - - __- - . __ - ______ - - - P.O. Box 18, Medford, MA. 02153 (617) 627-3090; Fax: (617) 627-3910, [email protected] Online: http://www.jumbohub.com/tuftsdaily will clean up this mess? Karen A. Epstein Editor-in-Chief It’s nothing personal -just business. In a land of UNICCO employees have been directed at the of free enterprise, where business owners try to get wrong target. Managing Editor: Gregory Geiman the most fortheirclients’dollars, it is inevitable that Tufts has no responsibility to UNICCO beyond Associate Editors: Amy Zimmet, Jason Cohen some hard working and loyal employees are going fulfillingthe terms of its contract with that company, NEWSEditors: Pete Sanborn, Lauren Heist to be here today, gone tomorrow.