University To Announce Proposal to End Sit-in

In a bid to end the occupation of Mass. Hall, the University will formally announce the details of a new committee to examine wage issues at Harvard in a press conference today, high-ranking administrators said.

Harvard will not raise wages, nor will it reopen contract negotiations with unions whose members earn less than $10.25 per hour.

The 23 members of the Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) currently occupying the building said they are discussing the proposal and have not decided whether or not to accept.

Members said they would wait for a formal announcement to make their final decision.

"There's nothing on the table on right now. We're staying in the building," said Aaron D. Bartley, a third-year law student.

The proposal to end the 20-day sit-in comes out of a marathon discussion session held yesterday, as AFL-CIO officials and high-ranking Harvard administrators, including General Counsel Anne Taylor, Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Paul S. Grogan and Harvard University Police Department Chief Francis D. "Bud" Riley went in and out of the occupied building throughout yesterday afternoon.

The committee, which grew out of a promise made last week by University President Neil L. Rudenstine, will have about 20 members and, unlike last year's committee, will include students-both undergraduates and graduates-and union workers, in addition to faculty and administrators, said a high-ranking official.

The committee will be "very inclusive, especially by Harvard standards," another administrator said.

The students on the committee will be selected by the student governments of Harvard's schools-the Undergraduate Council will choose the students to serve on behalf of the College.

Rudenstine has already chosen the faculty members, selected after a week of discussions with other deans and faculty among the various Harvard schools. The representatives will be "members of the faculty people whose decisions will carry weight throughout the University," an official said.

Officials declined to comment on who would chair the committee, although one said the pick was "very credible."

The committee will have a Dec. 31 deadline to report back to incoming President Lawrence H. Summers on all aspects of workers' benefits, including outsourcing and a minimum wage floor like the $10.25 per hour PSLM is demanding.

Officials said the University hoped the new committee would be welcomed by the protesters, but that their approval is not necessary for its creation.

-Staff writers Daniela J. Lamas and J. Ross MacDonald contributed to the reporting of this story.

-Staff writer Garrett M. Graff can be reached at ggraff@fas.harvard.edu.