Union Election Marks Conclusion Of 17 Years of Campus Organizing

1971: Workers in the Medical Area, led by District 65 of the Distributable Workers Union, begin efforts to organize the 700 secretaries and lab techinicians in that area.

Fall 1974: District 65 submits its petition for an election with the regional branch of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The University contests the bargaining unit, saying that the union may not organize in one separate area of the campus.

May 13, 1977: After a series of appeals, the NLRB rules that the union may hold its election in the Medical Area. Both the union and the University push for a quick election early in June.

June 1977: District 65 loses its first election in the Medical Area, with 436 workers opposed to the union, and 346 supporting it.

1979: District 65 affiliates with the United Auto Workers (UAW).

1981: District 65 loses its second election in the Medical Area. This time, 390 workers oppose the union and 328 support it.

May 1983: The union petitions the NLRB for a third election. In hearings before the board, Harvard again contests the size of the bargaining unit.

March 1984: The NLRB overturns its past decisions, and rules that the union must organize clerical and technical workers on the entire campus in order to hold an election.

August 1985: Several former Harvard staff members, led by Kris Rondeau, split from the UAW after months of in-fighting, to form the independent Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW). The UAW remains on campus and the two groups vie for employee support.

January 1987: After 18 months of independent organizing with virtually no funds, HUCTW receives national backing when it affiliates with the American Federation of State, Country, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). AFSCME, the largest union in the AFL-CIO, vows to give HUCTW as much support as it needs to win the election and contributes $500,000 to the campaign right off the bat.

May 1987: At a HUCTW rally attended by more than 500 support staff members, the seven other unions at Harvard announce their support of HUCTW's organizing efforts in the first-ever alliance of the campus unions. The alliance ensures worker solidarity in the event of any future strikes.

October 1987: UAW withdraws its organizing efforts from the Harvard campus, acknowledging HUCTW's larger base of support.

December 1987: HUCTW begins the complicated process of getting a union election by distributing union cards to support staff. Employees who endorse the union sign the cards and then return them to organizers.

January 1988: Administrators step up University efforts against the union by distributing a briefing book to supervisors. Administrators also hold closed meetings to urge support for the University's position.

February 6, 1988: Civil Rights leader Coretta Scott writes a letter to Harvard support staff endorsing HUCTW and its parent union, AFSCME.

February 22, 1988: At a rally attended by approximately 700 employees, students and other supporters, HUCTW announces that it has received signed union cards from a majority of support staff and that it will file its petition for an election by the end of March.

March 1, 1988: Rep. Barney Frank '62 (D-Mass.) writes a letter endorsing HUCTW and criticizing the antiunion campaigning of the University. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54 (D-Mass.) and his nephew Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-Mass.) also say they support the union's efforts.

March 7, 1988:1000 students sign a petition urging the University to remain neutral during the union campaign.

March 8, 1988:University administrators begin holding "informational meetings," outlining the University's position on the union for support staff members.

March 14, 1988:HUCTW files its petition for an election with the NLRB.

March 28, 1988:Negotiations between the University and the union begin at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

April 7, 1988:After a little more than a week of mediated negotiations between the union and Harvard, the NLRB sets May 17 as the date for a union election. Under the agreement, 41 employees--whose eligibility in the election was contested--have their ballots set aside, to be used only if necessary.

May 12, 1988:HUCTW holds a final rally in the Old Cambridge Baptitst Church five days before the election.

May 17, 1988:HUCTW is elected the sole bargaining agent for the nearly 3400 support staff workers by a narrow 44-vote margin.