Menafee appearing on the “Democracy Now!” news.
Corey Menafee, the cafeteria worker who lost his job after smashing a slavery-themed stained-glass window panel in Yale’s Calhoun College, plans to return to work Monday.
Menafee’s attorney, Patricia Kane, told the Independent Tuesday night that Menafee has accepted Yale’s offer to return to work.
“My client’s goal is to return to work, and this clears a path,” Kane said. “The only thing they’re saying is he can come back to work, and he’ll start on Monday.”
Kane said that her client has not agreed to some of the terms of reinstatement — a five-week unpaid suspension dating from the day of his “resignation” under pressure and a new assignment to a different dining hall — Yale outlined in a press release earlier in the day.
Kane initially rejected the terms outlined in the press release, saying that negotiations with the university had barely begun. She said Tuesday night that she had not been in touch with Yale all day.
“They’ve made this offer in public through the press rather than direct negotiations with the union or with me,” she said. “We’re just cutting right through it and showing up to work.”
Her announcement marks the end of a tumultuous week for Menafee, whose case gave renewed force to a student-led campaign for the renaming of Calhoun after the Independent published an initial story last week. Menafee’s case became a cause celebre both in town and nationwide.
“None of this would have been possible without the efforts of the community and the media. I can’t say it enough: Thank you so much,” Menafee told the Independent earlier Tuesday.
An earlier version of this story follows.
Yale May Rehire Arrested Caf Worker
Daniel Brighenti Photo
Menafee outside Superior Court.
Yale said Tuesday that it has offered to rehire an African-American cafeteria worker who became a cause celebre after leaving his post under pressure — but the matter remains under negotiation.Yale announced Tuesday that it has offered to rehire Corey Menafee, whom Yale police arrested — on a felony charge — after he broke a stained-glass window panel in Calhoun College depicting slaves at work.
After the Independent published this story, supporters in New Haven and nationwide took up Menafee’s cause, urging Yale to give him his job back. Menafee had “resigned” under pressure in a deal with Yale, but then said he wanted this job back. New Haven Mayor Toni Harp was the latest figure Monday urging Yale to rehire Menafee.
His incident touched two raw nerves: one from a year-long debate over whether to rename Calhoun College rather than continue to honor one of the country’s most ardent and visible defenders of slavery; and another from disparate treatment of African-Americans by the criminal justice system.
Yale issued this statement Tuesday: “Yale informed Mr. Menafee’s attorney that we are willing to grant his request for a second chance at Yale. Mr. Menafee, who resigned in June after he admitted intentionally breaking a stained glass window, has expressed deep remorse about his actions and informed us that he would like to rescind his resignation. He will be allowed to return to a position in a different setting, starting on Monday, after serving a five-week unpaid suspension (including the time since his resignation on June 21). Yale has already asked the State’s Attorney to drop all charges. We are willing to take these unusual steps given the unique circumstances of this matter, and it is now up to Mr. Menafee whether he wishes to return to Yale.”
Menafee told the Independent Tuesday that Yale offered to return him to his previous position in a different dining hall. He said he and the union are in early stages of discussions with Yale about the terms of reinstatement, so he doesn’t know yet if he’ll end up back in the job.
Menafee was moved by the turn of events.
“None of this would have been possible without the efforts of the community and the media,” he said. “I can’t say it enough: Thank you so much.” (Click on the above video to watch Menafee’s appearance on the “Democracy Now!” news program.)
But the matter’s not settled.
Menafee’s attorney, Patricia Kane, called the Yale statement a “fiction” that is “full of inaccuracies.” The matter remains very much in negotiation, she said.
“My client’s not going to work Monday. There’s no agreement in place.”
She took particular issue with the part of the statement listing terms that Menafee has not agreed to.
“Does Yale intend this to be a take it or leave it? Because we won’t take it. This is not only premature. There are no terms. This is only the beginning of a negotiation.”
Yale Vice President for Communications Eileen O’Connor told the Independent that the terms in the statement are what the university is offering Menafee, and that Menafee has not accepted the terms yet.
O’Connor said it is “absolutely inaccurate” that Menafee and Kane had not been sent the terms of the proposed rehiring. She declined to comment further on the terms except to say they were raised in a discussion Monday among Yale, Menafee and his union, UNITE HERE Local 35. She decline to say why Yale issued a public statement about ongoing negotiations or why Menafee will be unable to return to a position in Calhoun College.
Local 35 President Bob Proto issued this statement Tuesday: “Mr. Menafee, together with representatives from our union, talked with Yale yesterday. We stood firm in asking that the University rehire him. We are now waiting on a draft agreement from Yale and will continue to stand with Mr. Menafee until he is back at work.”