HUCTW History Spans Four Years

Three years ago today, when the Harvard Union of Clerical and technical Workers ratified its first contract, union members sang union songs, danced around the Kennedy School of Government's Starr auditorium and generally made merry as they waited for the agreement to become official.

The three-year contract, ratified June 30, 1989 in a 1551-98 vote, marked the end of a negotiation process that began that February. While many union members said they were pleased with the outcome, some said they thought HUCTW should have pushed harder to win stronger benefits.

After years of bitter organizational struggling, HUCTW won the right to represent Harvard's support staff in May, 1988. Workers had spent more than 17 years trying to organize a collective bargaining body.

Unlike the polarizing organizational campaign, union leaders described the 1989 formal contract negotiations as "friendly." In fact, labor experts said the talks created a "new model for the labor movement" that would set the tone of future labor relations on campus.

Three years later, union workers are back at the table. Negotiations are not as friendly this time around, but the union has retained its sense of humor.

Last Thursday, workers marched to President Neil L. Rudenstine's presently vacant home in an attempt to force administrators into reaching new agreements before today, the expiration date of the current contract.

Demonstrators carried a cardboard effigy of Rudenstine and signs asking, "Where on Earth is Neil?" Many said they also planned to send postcards to the president, who is in Europe for a meeting and vacation.

The workers also showed their spirit by organizing a "How the Other Half Lives" Tour, in which union members made visits to the "nice, fancy, sprawling" homes of deans and administrators, according to HUCTW President Donene M. Williams.