Union Head Speaks on Hicks

The president of the union which represents the University's dining hall workers yesterday defended his decision not to fight for the reinstatement of a cook who has charged Harvard Dining Services supervisors with racial discrimination.

Domenic N. Bozzotto, president of Local 26 of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union, was responding to charges by the cook, Darryl J. Hicks, who was fired this spring because of what University officials say is a poor attendance record and a lengthy disciplinary history.

His comments came as Hicks and Bozzotto prepare for a hearing Thursday with the National Labor Relations Board. Hicks has filed a complaint charging Bozzotto and his union with failing to provide him adequate representation.

Hicks, a union steward, said he was unfairly singled out for discipline because he is Black and because he was a union shop steward who spoke out against mistreatment of employees. He filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging discrimination in January, three months before his firing. Michael P. Berry, the director of dining services, has strongly denied the cook's charges.

Students and co-workers have expressed strong support for Hicks, and more than 500 students signed a petition urging Berry to reinstate the fired cook.

Hicks had filed a grievance contesting his firing, but it was denied by University officials. Earlier this month, Bozzotto decided not to take the grievance to arbitration.

Hicks has charged that Bozzotto's decision was not in the cook's or the union's best interests. Instead, Hicks said the union president had been weakened by dissension in his union to the point where he was afraid to act.

But Bozzotto strongly disputed that assertion yesterday. He pointed to his March re-election to the union presidency, when he ran unopposed, as evidence of his strong support among union members. Bozzotto also said the cost of arbitration, which can run more than $6,000, was a factor in his decision-making.

Bozzotto, for the first time, went on the offensive against Hicks, saying the former cook was a problem employee and not the victim of Harvard's administration.

"You can't look at it as some magic plot put together by Mike Berry and Harvard," said Bozzotto. "You look at Darryl's record, and it's trouble from day one."

Bozzotto pointed to a 1991 arbitration decision which said, "it is no wonder the employer has found Mr. Hicks' behavior distressing." Bozzotto also said he was troubled by an incident during the same year when Hicks allegedly threatened to kill a co-worker.

"Profanity and give-and-take among workers in a dining hall is normal," said Bozzotto. "But the question is, when is this shouting in a crowded theater."

Bozzotto said the threat was particularly disturbing because Hicks is physically imposing. "Darryl Hicks is a big man. Physically big."

Hicks has denied the death threat charge, and did so again yesterday.

Bozzotto said his union has often quarreled with Harvard, and he emphasized that it is important for organized labor to take a confrontational approach against highly bureaucratic places like the University.

"This union is certainly no defender of Harvard," said Bozzotto. "You'll see that Local 26 has had more arbitrations, more protests, than all the other unions combined. I've been arrested at Harvard for protesting more times than I can remember."

Bozzotto also rebuffed suggestions by Hicks that the union president had personal difficulties with the cook.

In an interview, Hicks said he felt vindicated by the University's recent decision to give him three days of overtime pay from a grievance he filed last fall. The grievance charged that dining services officials racially discriminate in the allocation of overtime, and Hicks has provided documentation which appears to support that charge.

Bozzotto said yesterday that he disagreed with Hicks on the charge of discrimination, but said he believed Harvard managers had been "lazy" in making sure overtime assignments were equal

Students and co-workers have expressed strong support for Hicks, and more than 500 students signed a petition urging Berry to reinstate the fired cook.

Hicks had filed a grievance contesting his firing, but it was denied by University officials. Earlier this month, Bozzotto decided not to take the grievance to arbitration.

Hicks has charged that Bozzotto's decision was not in the cook's or the union's best interests. Instead, Hicks said the union president had been weakened by dissension in his union to the point where he was afraid to act.

But Bozzotto strongly disputed that assertion yesterday. He pointed to his March re-election to the union presidency, when he ran unopposed, as evidence of his strong support among union members. Bozzotto also said the cost of arbitration, which can run more than $6,000, was a factor in his decision-making.

Bozzotto, for the first time, went on the offensive against Hicks, saying the former cook was a problem employee and not the victim of Harvard's administration.

"You can't look at it as some magic plot put together by Mike Berry and Harvard," said Bozzotto. "You look at Darryl's record, and it's trouble from day one."

Bozzotto pointed to a 1991 arbitration decision which said, "it is no wonder the employer has found Mr. Hicks' behavior distressing." Bozzotto also said he was troubled by an incident during the same year when Hicks allegedly threatened to kill a co-worker.

"Profanity and give-and-take among workers in a dining hall is normal," said Bozzotto. "But the question is, when is this shouting in a crowded theater."

Bozzotto said the threat was particularly disturbing because Hicks is physically imposing. "Darryl Hicks is a big man. Physically big."

Hicks has denied the death threat charge, and did so again yesterday.

Bozzotto said his union has often quarreled with Harvard, and he emphasized that it is important for organized labor to take a confrontational approach against highly bureaucratic places like the University.

"This union is certainly no defender of Harvard," said Bozzotto. "You'll see that Local 26 has had more arbitrations, more protests, than all the other unions combined. I've been arrested at Harvard for protesting more times than I can remember."

Bozzotto also rebuffed suggestions by Hicks that the union president had personal difficulties with the cook.

In an interview, Hicks said he felt vindicated by the University's recent decision to give him three days of overtime pay from a grievance he filed last fall. The grievance charged that dining services officials racially discriminate in the allocation of overtime, and Hicks has provided documentation which appears to support that charge.

Bozzotto said yesterday that he disagreed with Hicks on the charge of discrimination, but said he believed Harvard managers had been "lazy" in making sure overtime assignments were equal