University-Wide Strike Averted As Janitor Union Signs Contract

A union representing about 600 Harvard janitors, maids, porters, and bakers accepted last Thursday a new contract with the University, averting a threatened strike.

The possibility of a strike arose when the Harvard University Employees Representative Association overwhelmingly rejected the University's initial contract offer last July. The July contract would have been for three years with raises averaging out to 15 cents the first year, 15 cents the second, and 10 cents the third.

The union sent its leaders back into negotiations to demand a two-year contract with 20 or 25 cents in raises each year. They also wanted longer vacations and night differential pay for janitors. Finally, they wanted the University to pay for any increases in the cost of Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurance, should one materialize.

Strike Power

At the time they rejected the July contract, the employees voted to empower their union officials to call a strike if their demands were not met.

The contract approved Thursday incorporated most of the demands. It is a two-year contract, but the raise is still 15 cents per year. Union officials point out that the year of the small (10 cent) raise was the one dropped. The University also agreed to longer vacations and will pay for any Blue Cross-Blue Shield cost increases, but it rejected night differential pay.

In a wild meeting from which the press was excluded, the employees voted 105 to 48 in favor of the contract. Many of the dissidents were night janitors.

The contract will be retroactive to July 1, when the old one expired. Attorney Richard Coleman, cheif union negotiator, called it "the best contract we've ever had."