SDS Will Stage Rally Protesting 'Racist' Harvard Hiring Practices

SDS will march on the office of John B. Butler, Harvard personnel director, at 11:30 a.m. today to demand that Charles McNeil, a black electrician's helper employed by Harvard, be given the 20-cent hourly raise he claims is due him.

SDS, in a flyer distributed yesterday, noted that no black electricians are employed by Harvard and said that the electricians' apprentice program at Harvard is "continuing Harvard's racism."

The eight-step apprentice program, designed to enable a worker to get an electrician's license, was negotiated between Harvard and the Greater Boston Maintenance Council (AFL-CIO) in December, 1969. McNeil joined the program when it began.

Butler, asked last night if McNeil had been denied a pay raise, said, "If a person is entitled to a pay raise and is a Harvard employee, he will receive it."

McNeil said he was denied the tencent pay raise guaranteed each apprentice every six months under the Harvard-AFL-CIO contract.

Richard Coleman, labor relations manager in the personnel department, said last night that he "wasn't aware" that McNeil had not received what he was entitled to by his contract.

McNeil also claims that his foreman on the job has refused to sign a report-card for his work as required under the apprenticeship program's contract.

Coleman said he knew McNeil's report-card had not been signed, but added that he did not know why.

"When he first came to see me about a month ago, that was one of his complaints. The answer was given him that things would be looked into, and progress is being made," Coleman said.

The SDS flyer said that McNeil "has been placed in one of the most advanced and most dangerous areas of work-high-tension work."

Coleman claimed that McNeil has not been working with high-tension work. "He has been working on high-tension sites, but just with appliances," he said.

Coleman added that Harvard had searched for black electricians, but was unable to find any.