Living Wage Foes Organize Opposition

Two former students representing the movement against a living wage at Harvard took new steps yesterday to assert their presence, standing outside the Science Center distributing pamphlets and gathering signatures.

They hope to present a petition against the living wage to University President Lawrence H. Summers by the end of the week. Currently, they have collected about 30 signatures, but by Friday co-leaders of the project Damian J. Moskovitz ’01 and Tal D. Ben-Shachar ’96, a resident tutor of Leverett House, hope to have more than 300.

The two both spoke up against the living wage at Monday night’s open forum, held by the Harvard Committee on Employment and Contracting Policies (HCECP). The forum was held to release the committee’s preliminary data on the state of labor issues at Harvard.

Moskowitz and Ben-Shachar said they feel that now is the time to provide a “rational voice” to the opposition movement, as the Dec. 19 deadline approaches for the committee’s recommendations. Their cause was recently given a boost when Professor of Economics Caroline M. Hoxby ’88 resigned from the committee to protest what she saw as HCECP’s unfair slant in favor of a living wage.

“The response to our presence has been mixed so far,” Moskovitz said.

“Many students are saying that it is about time that someone is speaking rationally about this issue, but others have said that we should be ashamed and are immoral,” he said.

On campus, vocal support for a living wage has been organized by the Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM).

Stephen N. Smith ’02, a PSLM member, said the group has no official position regarding the opposition, but noted that visibility of the living wage issue among students was a “major concern.”

PSLM hopes to plan a debate on the issue in coming weeks, he said.

The efforts of Moskovitz and Ben-Shachar are being backed by the Harvard Objectivist Club, a philosophy club composed of about 15 undergraduates and many more members from among the greater community. Moskovitz is still an active member of the club, although Ben-Shachar holds no club affiliation.

The club was responsible for the anti-living wage protest that took place last April. The rally, which featured speakers from the Ayn Rand Institute, ignited controversy as organizers removed PSLM banners from the rally site in front of University Hall.

The Objectivists oppose the living wage movement on the grounds that no group has the right to take over private property, and that Harvard is under no moral obligation to give away its money, said Objectivist Club President Erica L. Maier ’02.

“Objectivism is the idea that individuals succeed or fail on their own and that society—and here particularly Harvard—doesn’t owe them anything,” Maier said.

Moskovitz currently writes for the Objectivist Center, a New York based organization that aims to promote objectivism, as defined by novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand.

“If last year’s Crimson survey indicated that only a third of Harvard students supported last year’s occupation of Mass. Hall, there is obviously a lot of opposition out there,” Moskovitz said. “We are here to assure those students that they should not be ashamed or embarrassed—and should be proud—to oppose the living wage.”

Opposition to the campaign for a living wage is rooted in more than objectivism, according to Ben-Shachar. He said he believes many others oppose the movement based on its use of force to obtain its objectives.

“We disagree with both the ends and the means of the living wage campaign, and the undergraduates need to hear other voices besides the chants of PSLM,” Ben-Shachar said.

While other groups opposed to PSLM demonstrated last spring, the Objectivists are the only group currently actively campaigning against the living wage.

R. Graham O’Donoghue ’02, who was invited to speak against the living wage at Monday night’s forum, said the other opposing voices have stayed silent because they wish to avoid activism in general.

“The heart and soul of anti-living wage sentiment on campus isn’t really organized,” he said.

The Objectivist Club has no definite plans for further action, but Moskowitz said the group will organize a rally if members feel they still are not being heard.

“Unlike PSLM, we are not trying to generate emotional appeal,” Moskovitz said. “There are no singers, drummers and dancers here. We are simply trying to inform the public and present a rational side in this debate.”

—Staff writer Ross A. Macdonald contributed to the reporting of this story.