Paul Trudel Wants One Last Paycheck

For Paul Trudel, earning a living as a camera salesman just isn't the same as doing the job he spent 18 years perfecting. But since he was fired from the Central Copy Services at Harvard last February 14, Trudel, a pressman, hasn't had much choice.

"You just can't find anything in printing that pays more than $130 a week," Trudel said on Tuesday. "I'm making just a little more now than I did on unemployment."

Trudel charged last spring that the University dismissed him because he attempted to organize his co-workers with District 65 of the Distributive Workers of America. But an unfair labor practices charge against Harvard that the union filed with the National Labor Relations Board and the University's internal inquiry into the matter were both dropped last year after Trudel said he had lost interest.

Charles Stoner, the Copy Services supervisor who fired Trudel, was removed earlier this year from the Service. Stone now works as a "copy systems analyst" in Holyoke Center.

Trudel says he is no longer interested in seeking redress from Harvard. "But I still keep in touch with my friends over there," he said, "and Harvard still owes me my two weeks severance pay."