The Realities of Guarding Harvard

I saw a Pinkerton Guard having lunch in the Garage. I asked him point-blank how much he made an hour. He said, "I'm a sergeant so I make a little more than most guards, $8.40." I then asked how he could live on $8.40 an hour. He responded, "I'm on Section 8 so I don't have to worry about rent."

Well, Harvard, I'm not on Section 8, neither do I get food stamps, but my rent has gone up $125 a month since my last raise, which was May of 1995, for $0.15 an hour. The cost of food has gone up. Health insurance for my wife and daughter has gone up and parking has gone up. I have been a member of the Harvard community for over 10 years. For eight of those years I have called the Kennedy School home and the members of the Kennedy School, family. I read the article about the guards in the March 2 edition of The Crimson and I'd like to pick a few bones.

First, you can better define under-trained, which you call us. I've had CPR, lifesaving and first aid courses numerous times. True, in recent years we have not had refresher courses. And if Harvard doesn't think enough of its faculty, staff and students to re-certify those who are most apt to be the first on the scene of a medical emergency, there is not much we guards, as a unit, can do about it.

I also read the cost to employ a full-time guard was $26 an hour. I'm making $11.97 an hour (as I said before, this is after 10 years of service to Harvard). Somebody up top is wasting a hell of a lot of Harvard's money, because it's not going into my pocket. And if it's true (which I seriously doubt) that the outside contractors are charging $13 an hour for a guard, how much is the guard getting, $7 or $7.50 an hour? Aren't you ashamed, Harvard, allowing people working for you, outside contractors or not, to work for slave wages? Don't you think better of yourself than that? But then again maybe the person who made $6 million off of Harvard last year really needs to make $6.0001 million. Harvard, I have learned through experience that the old adage is true: you do get what you pay for.

And let us not forget that a Harvard University Guard is first and foremost a Harvard University employee who happens to be a guard. And for all the Harvard employees belonging to other unions: if you think that your jobs are safe, look at the recent issues of Inside Harvard. Many support staff positions are becoming exempt, just so Harvard can make your union weaker.

Can anyone imagine that the richest, most handsomely endowed University in the world has lost its sense of caring, its sense of decency, its sense of purpose, and its vision as a whole and can't see beyond the pennies it's trying to hoard. James Sullivan is a Harvard University security guard.