Harvard Dairy Supplier Agrees To Hold Vote on Unionization

Harvard's main supplier of dairy products, embroiled in a 10-week strike which has drawn student calls for a University boycott of the company's goods, ahs agreed to allow an election to determine whether or not the company's employees wish to join a labor union.

But students advocating the boycott said yesterday they will continue to pressure Harvard to discontinue its purchases. Previous efforts have included picketing by more than 30 students and striking company employees outside the Freshman Union two weeks ago.

The move by the H A Hovey Company means that the National Labor Relations Board will now hold a hearing to determine the mechanics of the election for which no date has been set an NIRB spokesman said yesterday.

The election was called to "clear the air," Varnom R. Mead, treasurer for Hovey, said yesterday. He added. You can't go on indefinitely with two sides in a dispute and nothing having been resolved.

But an official for the union representing the striking workers expressed skepticism at the company's motives for allowing the election.

"There is no guarantee when the election will be said Jim T. Nestor secretary-treasurer for Union Local 592 of the United Food and Commercial Workers.

He added that the big issue would be determining who would vote in the election and said he thought the company probably wanted "to allow the scabs to vote, referring to the workers who have filled the positions vacated by striking employees.

Students advocating a boycott of Hovey products said they too doubt the sincerity of the company's move. They submitted a petition with 375 undergraduate signatures asking Harvard to discontinue its purchases from the company in Benjamin H. Walcott, assistant director of food services yesterday.

"As long as Hovey employees are on strike we must urge Harvard to withdraw its financial support from the company," said Jonathan E. Elwin '84 an organizer of the petition drive.

But Walcott, after meeting yesterday afternoon with Elwitt, said the petition would not affect University purchasing policy, which holds that taking ethical considerations into account in day-to-day business decisions would create an excessive administrative burden.

Even if he came in with 4,000 signatures, I would be impressed, but I don't think that would change anything." said Walcott.

Elwitt said Walcott was "passing the buck" and added that he would try to meet with President Bok to discuss the issue. He added that he plans to organize more picketing.

Hovey's decision to proceed with the petition for a union election comes although action on the petition had been postponed by the NLRB because of charges that union official had slashed the tires of company delivery trucks, and had kept the company's president from driving on company property.