Butler Addresses SFAC On Painter Protest Issue

Student critics confronted John B. Butler, Harvard director of personnel, over the painters' helpers issue yesterday at a meeting of the Student-Faculty Advisory Committee.

Early in the meeting, Butler sought to describe the underlying aims and problems of the helper program. The program he said, was conceived by the University in 1967 as a "contribution toward employment of people not regularly employed before." The painting trade had been chosen as the first in which to establish a helper program because it involved the least skills, he added.

But Robert M. Krim '70 and Richard E. Hyland '69-4, who entered late in the meeting, charged that the University was failing to promote qualified painters to journeyman status for "racist" reasons.

Butler was the only administration spokesman present at the SFAC meeting, which met to discuss the painters' helper issue. The meeting adjourned without passing any resolution on the matter.

Butler explained that painters and helpers often do the same work so that the helpers can gain experience in the trade.

Though he said that no helpers had been promoted to journeymen so far, he said that "each of these men has been told that the objective is for them to become journeymen." He noted that one helper was scheduled to be promoted soon.

Butler reiterated that the University had been unable to find any black painters qualified to be hired directly as journeymen.

Krim, who said that he had spoken to a number of painters, claimed that several journeymen had told him that all the black helpers and some of the white helpers were fully qualified to become journeymen.

He said that although the majority of the helpers had had training in painting skills, they were receiving none at Harvard.

"Tell him [Butler] about racism," Hy-land interjected at one point while Krim was speaking. Hyland remarked that he found it difficult to sit in the same room as Butler.

Krim said that he had heard of several instances where journeymen had urged that certain helpers be promoted and that their recommendations had been vetoed from above, probably by the foreman. He charged that the University had developed the helper program to attract workers who would accept lower wages, because, being black, they couldn't get a job anywhere else.

Butler had admitted earlier in the meeting that no formal criteria exist for the promotion of painters' helpers. He said that Harvard was presently discussing this matter in negotiations now taking place between the University and the union representing Harvard's maintenance workers.

Butler remained silent during most of Krim's statement, although he seemed to be taking notes on what Krim was saying, Replying to Krim at one point, he repeated his statement that the helpers were receiving "on-the-job training" by working alongside journeymen. He said that historically Harvard had hired only skilled workmen but had instituted the training program to provide jobs for more blacks.

Roger Thomas, a graduate student, adjourned the meeting near the end of its second hour. Thomas moved that the group make no resolution on the painters' helper issue because too few members of SFAC were present. At the close of the meeting, many of those who had been present at the beginning had left. Though SFAC has 38 members, the number present at any time never exceeded 12.