University, HUCTW Issue Joint Statement

Members of Harvard's casual work force--who student activists have campaigned for over the last year, claiming they are under-compensated--have gained a new ally: the University.

The University issued a joint statement with the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) on Wednesday, admitting that they may have allowed casual workers to work longer than University policy guidelines permit.

Casual workers are defined as part-time workers for the University who do not work more than three months or more than 17.5 hours per week, and are denied status as regular employees.

They are usually paid less than regular employees and--because they work under a certain number of hours--are not entitled to benefits, including health care, dental plans and pensions.

In the statement, the University acknowledged that some casual employees may have been denied benefits that they should have been given on the basis of the number of stories they have worked.

"Some employees may not have received benefits to which they are entitled," the statement read. "Joint efforts have resulted in the correction of some specific situations where errors had occurred."

This joint statement came approximately a year after HUCTW first raised the issue, expressing concern that the University was overstepping its guidelines.

The University began a review of the situation and ultimately concluded some casual workers should have been on the full-time payroll.

"A thorough analysis, by several groups within Harvard, has been underway to assess the scope of this situation," University President Neil L. Rudenstine said in the statement.

"As soon as this analysis has been completed, we will have concrete recommendations designed to resolve the matters at hand," his statement read.

While the University has been accused of dragging its feet on labor issues in the past, Rudenstine has taken an active role in collecting data on casual employment. He took the unusual action of writing letters to the heads of the individual schools, asking that they comply with University guidelines by July 20.

"The President is vitally interested and involved [in the data-collecting process]," said Merry D. Touborg, a University spokesperson.

And HUCTW Director Bill Jaeger said he is pleased that the University is to trying to clean up its act.

"There has been a lot of confusion and sloppiness [in the past] and this is an effort to bring an end to that," he said. "We've been concerned about it for awhile and we've been trying to get some serious discussion with the University."

While the statement is attributed to both the University and HUCTW, the statement only included one excerpt from an HUCTW official, and the union is expected to issue its own four-page statement next week.

The HUCTW statement will be distributed to its members and will focus more on the moral ramifications of the casual workforce issue.

The University's current analysis of its casual employment situation is derived from a "snap shot" of the University pay-rolls the week of February 20. While the results were constrained by the short time period, they revealed that out of a total of about 15,000 employees, 1,361 were "casual employees."

The data-collecting initiative is not the only action the University is taking to try to assess its labor practices. In addition to pursuing the data-collecting initiative, the University also appointed an interfaculty task on employment practice in April, partially in response to the Living Wage Campaigns effort to lobby for a minimum $10 an hour wage for all Harvard employees.

The task force has been meeting throughout the summer, but it is still in the process of trying to collect information on the "contingent" work force--casual and subcontracted workers--before it can even begin to assess the situation, Touborg said.

She emphasized that the University and HUCTW will remain in constant contact with each other.

"The relationship HUCTW has with Harvard allows for constant conversation," Touborg said. "We don't see them just at the negotiating table.

"There has been a lot of confusion and sloppiness [in the past] and this is an effort to bring an end to that," he said. "We've been concerned about it for awhile and we've been trying to get some serious discussion with the University."

While the statement is attributed to both the University and HUCTW, the statement only included one excerpt from an HUCTW official, and the union is expected to issue its own four-page statement next week.

The HUCTW statement will be distributed to its members and will focus more on the moral ramifications of the casual workforce issue.

The University's current analysis of its casual employment situation is derived from a "snap shot" of the University pay-rolls the week of February 20. While the results were constrained by the short time period, they revealed that out of a total of about 15,000 employees, 1,361 were "casual employees."

The data-collecting initiative is not the only action the University is taking to try to assess its labor practices. In addition to pursuing the data-collecting initiative, the University also appointed an interfaculty task on employment practice in April, partially in response to the Living Wage Campaigns effort to lobby for a minimum $10 an hour wage for all Harvard employees.

The task force has been meeting throughout the summer, but it is still in the process of trying to collect information on the "contingent" work force--casual and subcontracted workers--before it can even begin to assess the situation, Touborg said.

She emphasized that the University and HUCTW will remain in constant contact with each other.

"The relationship HUCTW has with Harvard allows for constant conversation," Touborg said. "We don't see them just at the negotiating table.