A Praiseworthy Compromise

We congratulate the University and the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) for hashing out a three-year labor agreement, after several months of negotiations. The accord represents a victory for compromise, coming much more quickly and with far less acrimony than the bitter negotiations on the last contract in 1992.

The new contract will increase the wages of the 3,600 members of the union by an average of 12 percent over the next three years. Moreover, the University granted a number of provisions eagerly sought by the union, including a longer Christmas vacation and increased benefits toward child care.

The two sides reached agreement, however, only by avoiding discussions on the contentious issue of benefits reductions. Union members raised an uproar last year after the University announced unilaterally that it would cut health benefits in order to trim costs.

The new agreement buys time for a committee of administrators and union leaders formed to discuss the proposed cuts before they are fully implemented by the University. The most contentious issues of the proposed changes concern the addition of co-payments for doctor visits and a reduction in health care benefits for part-time workers.

We recognize the need for reform in a time of escalating health care costs, but Harvard must ensure that it distributes such changes equitably. If Harvard expects the union to accept the cuts without a fight, it must be prepared to listen to the union voices on the committee.

By supporting this labor agreement, the union membership has placed its trust in its leaders and in the University that there will be some progress in upcoming negotiations on the benefits issue. If compromise cannot be reached, Harvard will find HUCTW a more difficult partner when negotiations begin on the next contract in January 1997.

All in all, Harvard's negotiating team, led by Tim Manning, can take credit for giving its employees a fair deal. Unlike past negotiators, Manning seemed willing to genuinely listen to union concerns, and his stance paid off. We hope Harvard will continue in this spirit in its negotiations over benefits in the coming months.