Dissatisfied with the administration's treatment of employees in the wake of Hurricane Fran, members of the Student-Employee Relations Coalition decided last night to present a petition to President Nan Keohane proposing changes to the University's severe weather policy.
Signed by over 1,400 members of the University community thus far, the petition expressed SERC's discontent with alleged mistakes made by the administration in regards to their handling of University employees during and after the hurricane. While the petition is directly addressed to Keohane, Trinity junior and SERC co-coordinator Erik Ludwig said the petition will be presented tomorrow afternoon to John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs, who will be acting as Keohane's representative. A SERC group comprising at least one University employee, undergraduate, graduate, faculty member and hospital worker will present the petition to Burness, Ludwig said.
The petition specifies three ways in which members suggest that problems between employees and administrators can be rectified.
SERC states in their petition that employees should be paid one day's wages regardless of whether or not they worked on Friday, Sept. 6, adding that employees that did work should be paid double. It also calls for the formation of a committee made up of administrators, employees, students and faculty to redefine the University's severe weather policy. In addition, the petition proposes that a similar committee be created to discuss the University's role in the Durham community.
SERC formulated the petition in part to respond to an announcement made by Executive Vice President Tallman Trask regarding compensation for University employees who were affected by the hurricane. In his statement, Trask said that employees would be allowed to work extra hours to make up for time lost due to the inclement weather. Ludwig said that SERC felt Trask's response was "inadequate" and that asking employees to make up lost hours was "more a punishment than a benefit."
Members of SERC said they were pleased with the resolution to present the petition to Keohane.
"[The SERC petition] is a great effort," said Trinity senior and SERC member Raj Goyle. "It addresses issues that affect the whole community."
Employees, whom the petition affects most, said that it was important because they are part of both the Durham community and the University community.
"It's important because I myself came out here through the night during the hurricane," said University employee and SERC member Ronnie Wilkerson. "I had a wife and two kids at home while I was here. The damage that was done here would have been done whether I was here or not. People put themselves in situations where they jeopardized themselves for the good of the University, and anyone that helped out should be compensated for their efforts."
Ludwig said he agreed with Wilkerson and added that given its resources during the hurricane, the University should have done more to help the Durham community, including its employees. "There are a lot of people angered about the University's response to the hurricane and the treatment of its employees in this situation," Ludwig said. "Duke University had all the resources during the hurricane-electricity, running water, air conditioning, laundry facilities. It could have shared its resources with the community. These employees of ours live in Durham."
In addition to the petition, Ludwig said concerned students can send letters supporting the SERC petition home to their parents, which parents can then send to the administration.
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