Ralliers Cry Foul in Firing of Librarian

Student protesters and union members gathered yesterday outside the Holyoke Center to protest the August firing of a Harvard library assistant who had been arrested for allegedly making terrorist threats in the Alewife T station.

The rally was staged by the Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM) and the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers. The groups have demanded that the University rehire the longtime employee, David S. Toomey, an assistant at the Harvard College Library’s technical services division. The groups said Harvard discriminated against Toomey, a 20-year library veteran who they said has a medical disability.

Toomey was arrested on May 10 and charged with disorderly conduct and making terrorist threats after other commuters at the Alewife T Station allegedly overheard him say he had a bomb in his backpack. The criminal case has not yet been decided.

Shortly after the arrest, Harvard administrators put Toomey on leave and requested that other library employees report any concerns they had about his behavior, according to union representatives. The university fired Toomey, who was still on leave, on August 3.

Harvard College Library spokeswoman Beth Brainard said Toomey’s termination was due to “performance and work-related issues” and unrelated to the subway incident.

Brainard declined to comment further, citing University policy not to discuss specific personnel matters.

Karen O’Brien, Toomey’s union representative, said the University breached its contract with the union by firing Toomey without following the proper grievance process, which includes several levels of mediation.

“This termination came out of the blue. He said his part of the story, and then he got a letter saying he was fired,” O’Brien said.

Union representative Geoff Carens said Toomey was unfairly treated because of a permanent medical condition. The union declined to make Toomey or a lawyer available for comment.

“They have been harassing him for 10 years or more with tons and tons of petty complaints,” Carens said.

The dispute is in mediation, according to the University and union representatives, and University spokesman Joe Wrinn said that the process is being expedited for Toomey’s case.

The protesters outside the Holyoke Center are calling for even quicker action.

“I think it has been one of the more gross violations of workers’ rights in my time here,” said Adaner Usmani ’08, a SLAM member, before the rally. “We’ve been pushing for a better grievance procedure, and this is a clear example that [a better procedure] is necessary.”

Genevieve Butler, a former library employee who knew Toomey, joined the roughly 20 protesters yesterday.

“He’s a nice, quiet guy. What they are saying he did is totally out of character,” Butler said.

—Staff writer Jeremy S. Singer-Vine can be reached at jsvine@fas.harvard.edu.