Spring Break
As union and company debate possible layoffs, janitor just hopes to pay the bills
Christopher Duray
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: News
With politics and discussions shooting between the three groups, its easy to forget exactly who is standing in the middle of the dispute, from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. every night cleaning up the trash in the hallways, raking the endless amount of leaves in front of the doorways and methodically mopping a gym. And then another gym. And then five racquetball courts, and maybe cleaning up a locker room left in disarray.
It's a tough job, but Marcel would never keep up with his mortgage payments without it. Layoffs are a real possibility and in that case, the policy is to fire workers based on seniority, with newer employees leaving first. Marcel has only worked at UConn for a year.
According to Steve Ciccone, a senior account manager for GCA, the seniority policy was a union policy designed to try to discourage more subjective firing methods. Ciccone said he would have preferred to take skill into account, which might have saved Marcel; before moving to Hartford last year, he spent a decade doing the same work in New York City.
Marcel started his life as a police constable in St. Lucia, the Caribbean island where his 25-year-old son lives today. The job didn't pay well though, and eventually, hoping to make more money, he moved to St. Croix, one of the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he was forced to find a new career.
"When you leave your country and come to another man's, it is not so easy to join their police," he said.
Eventually the work in St. Croix dried up and Anthony looked north, finding a job as a night janitor in New York City.
"I did that for about eight or nine years, but the cost of living was, at that time, cheaper here [in Connecticut]," he said. "So I bought a house here because I couldn't buy a house in New York."
Shifting from the high authority of a policeman to the somewhat lower-regarded position of custodian didn't bother Marcel. He was used to working the night beat back in St. Lucia. He liked his new work and was good at it. These days, he barely considers his old profession.
It's a tough job, but Marcel would never keep up with his mortgage payments without it. Layoffs are a real possibility and in that case, the policy is to fire workers based on seniority, with newer employees leaving first. Marcel has only worked at UConn for a year.
According to Steve Ciccone, a senior account manager for GCA, the seniority policy was a union policy designed to try to discourage more subjective firing methods. Ciccone said he would have preferred to take skill into account, which might have saved Marcel; before moving to Hartford last year, he spent a decade doing the same work in New York City.
Marcel started his life as a police constable in St. Lucia, the Caribbean island where his 25-year-old son lives today. The job didn't pay well though, and eventually, hoping to make more money, he moved to St. Croix, one of the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he was forced to find a new career.
"When you leave your country and come to another man's, it is not so easy to join their police," he said.
Eventually the work in St. Croix dried up and Anthony looked north, finding a job as a night janitor in New York City.
"I did that for about eight or nine years, but the cost of living was, at that time, cheaper here [in Connecticut]," he said. "So I bought a house here because I couldn't buy a house in New York."
Shifting from the high authority of a policeman to the somewhat lower-regarded position of custodian didn't bother Marcel. He was used to working the night beat back in St. Lucia. He liked his new work and was good at it. These days, he barely considers his old profession.
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