DINING FOR DOLLAR

The rally by Harvard Dining Services (HDS) workers outside the Faculty Club last week attempted to exploit alleged managerial misbehavior in order to influence upcoming contract renegotiations. The message of worker "abuse" was paramount; the ploy for increased wages was less apparent. While students must sympathize with any members of the HDS staff who has been mistreated by their boss, students should not believe the purported ills of the protesting labor force justify its contemporaneous demand for more money.

Kelsey L. Miller, a waiter at the Faculty Club, represented the workers' attitudes fairly well when she said, "I'm demonstrating because our contract comes up in two months and because management treats us like shit." The behavior of management, then, is the immediate cause, but the ultimate cause is that of contract renewal. The workers want leverage in order to gouge the University for money. Not that workers shouldn't be allowed to act out such petty ploys, but it is certain that their demands are not in the interests of the students who will ultimately bear the burden of increased wages.

Our board is already too high for the quality of food services we receive. The anachronistic system of comprehensive meal plans forces students to pay for more than they will ever eat. And what they pay for under such an administration of their money is the labor of the HDS employees. For the costs of meals at the houses, we could all eat at the Hong Kong or Bertucci's every day--and enjoy it. Students are now forced to bankroll not only the cooks, cleaners and dishwashers, but those very nice but very unnecessary ladies who run our ID cards through the credit machines. The high number of workers, itself a concession to the Union, should be reduced before any increase in salary is given.

Some 15 Harvard students took part in the rally as members of the Progressive Action Network. One of those undergraduates, Daniel R. Morgan '99, said that he wants the University to know that the workers "are backed by the students." But this is true only in the sense that we believe workers should be treated well. It is not in the interest of the student body to cave into worker demands for higher wages. The cost of board is already excessive for the quality of the food and services we receive. If the HDS workers want an increased wage, let them work with the University to cut jobs and increase the amount of flexibility in the system. Students should have their own pockets in mind before those of the unionized food service workers.