Construction Workers Have Dangerous Jobs

My co-workers and I were the subjects of "Hammering Their Way Into Harvard History," which appeared in The Harvard Crimson on October 16, 1993. We were pleased that reporter David B. Lat chose to portray the construction crew at Thayer Hall as a diverse group. Although construction workers are often thought of in stereotypical ways, the reality is that we are a diverse group of people (white and black, men and women) who have pride in our work and lives outside of work.

Unfortunately, Lat began his interview by asking for "funny stories" about working at Harvard. Construction work is a serious business, with workers facing insecurity and danger when they walk on the job every day. At Harvard, the jobs are especially dirty and dangerous, and they move quickly.

In their response to Lat's questions, several workers expressed dissatisfaction not only with the difficult working conditions but also with the Project Labor Agreement signed between Harvard and all building trades unions. In this agreement, workers take a ten percent pay cut and other concessionary contract language in exchange for all union conditions on certain projects. Since Harvard still does some of its own work with non-union workers, some of us feel that the agreement is too one-sided.

In closing, I would like to thank Mr. Lat, The Crimson and the Harvard community for this profile. I would also like to add that sociologists, like those who teach and do research at Harvard, suggest that people respond and adapt to their environment. Provide a good, healthy environment and those type of people will emerge; a bad environment will produce a more negative group. The weight of that choice rests primarily with Harvard. Joseph D. Power   Carpenter Steward   --Thayer Hall Carpenters Union Local 40