New Painters' Contract Ratified, Partially Satisfies OBU Demand

The demands of the Organization for Black Unity (OBU) have been partially met by the recent ratification of new contracts between Harvard and the five maintenance unions represented here-including a contract providing a mechanism for the promotion of painters' helpers.

The contracts have been ratified by all groups represented except for a group of laborers, who rejected their contract primarily because it provided a pay raise of only 65 cents an hour, compared with raises of 92 cents and $1,02 in skilled trades.

Six-Man Group

The new painters' contract-the result of an agreement reached Dec. 11 between Harvard and the Boston and Vicinity Crafts Maintenance Council-provides for a six-member committee made up of three Harvard representatives and three from the painters' union which will set up an apprenticeship program to upgrade the present painters' helpers to journeymen status.

The new contract in part meets the OBU demand-issued during the Dec. 5 occupation of University Hall-that Harvard abolish the painters' helpers category and immediately promote the helpers to journeymen painters.

No More Helpers

The helper category will be climinated by the now agreement, but helpers will not receive automatic promotions.

Current helpers will be placed in the apprentice program according to the extent of their previous experience. This means experienced helpers will not have to complete the entire apprentice program to become journeymen.

The agreement instead provides a train-ing program with promotions every six months and a ten cent wage increase.

Other OBU demands-centering primarily around the demand that 20 percent of the construction workers employed by the University be black or "third world"-apparently are no closer to being met than they were three weeks ago, when OBU called off talks with the Administration.

OBU had no official statement last night on either the new painters' contract or the state of other negotiations.

The new contracts-negotiated for Harvard's electricians, painters, plumbers, mechanics, steamfitters, stockmen, and laborers-replace contracts which expired Dec. 8.

The laborers' contract provides for pay increases of 30, 20 and 15 cents an hour over a two-year period. All other trades will receive raises of 45, 20, and 27 cents over the same period. Members of the laborers' bargaining group objected to both this and to a clause indicating that during an "emergency" at Harvard they might receive less than the normal double rate for overtime pay.