Duke, YMCA dispute same-sex family policy
By: Paul Crowley
Last update: 1/18/06 at 11:36 AM EST
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Officials representing the University and the YMCA of the Triangle Area will meet May 28 to discuss a conflict in the interpretation of a contract that provides discounted memberships to Duke employees and their dependents as part of the Duke Fitness Club. In return for this group discount, Duke promotes the YMCA to its employees.
The discrepancy stems from the billing status of same-sex partners, whom Duke contends should be charged at the family rate of $68 per month. The YMCA's policy calls for members of these couples to each pay the individual rate of $45 per month. The agreement itself uses language that is open to interpretation, stating that "employees or dependents" can qualify for the discounted memberships and that "the YMCA will be solely responsible for determining the means and methods for performing the described services set forth on the face of this contract."
"Essentially the [agreement] is that the Y would use our definition of family, which is broad and includes domestic partners and offspring," said John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations. He noted that the agreement was honored to Duke's satisfaction while the Downtown YMCA in Durham was under its previous management and that the problems arose when the Raleigh YMCA took over the management of the Durham branch. "The Raleigh Y is somewhat more dominant; they did not like that agreement, and they did not honor [it]," Burness added.
The contract was originally signed by Mindy Kornberg, assistant vice president for human resources at Duke, and Judy Bright, executive vice president of YMCA of the Triangle Area. The agreement endured without event from its signing in September 2003 until March 30, when Kornberg wrote Bright a letter stating that "at Duke, dependents include those registered as same-sex spousal equivalents." The letter went on to say that Duke would consider the failure to honor same-sex spousal relationships in the YMCA billing "a breach of our agreement... and would plan to end immediately" the promotions mentioning the YMCA.
Bright addressed these concerns in an April 8 letter to Executive Vice President Tallman Trask, writing that the YMCA "respectfully disagree[s]" with the notion that same-sex couples enjoy the same status in the agreement as legally married couples.
The two sides have been wrangling over the definition, neither deviating from the position set forth in its letter, for over a month. Only recently did the sides schedule the May 28 meeting, when representatives from each side will determine the future of the agreement.
"They'll present their points," Burness said. "We'll have a chance to present ours."
The conflict comes at a time when same-sex couples and their rights are hot-button issues, with a controversial bill pending in the North Carolina General Assembly that would place a referendum for a constitutional ban on gay marriage on the ballots in the Nov. 2 election. Amid this uncertainty, the YMCA has emphasized its acceptance of all lifestyles.
"We have same-sex couples who are members of the YMCA," noted Dorothy Brown, a public relations officer for YMCA of the Triangle Area.
If the University withdraws from the agreement, it would be compelled to give the YMCA 30 days notice, as stipulated in the original agreement. Current members of the YMCA employed by Duke would have to either pay the normal individual rate or join one of the other programs involved in the Duke Fitness Club.
Despite the fact that their partnership might dissolve if the University and the YMCA do not reach an agreement at the meeting, University officials have high hopes that a concord can emerge from the meeting.
"It will be interesting to see if they have any new information," Burness said.
