Striking Employees Meet, Decide to Revise Demands

Approximately 300 striking University employees met yesterday afternoon in Memorial Church, but the movement for an all-University shutdown including employees has apparently bogged down in confusion and discord.

The meeting, which lasted more than two hours, adjourned after adopting only one motion, which modified four strike demands accepted by a similar meeting Tuesday night. No decision was made on specific strike strategy for University employees.

Demands Eliminated

The revision eliminated demands calling for an end to political repression and University defense research, while leaving intact two demands that the government "unilaterally and immediately withdraw" from Southeast Asia, and that striking workers receive full pay and not lose their jobs.

The major obstacle to a widespread employee strike is a no-strike clause in the union contracts of University service employees, which includes Buildings and Grounds and Food Service personnel. Employee strike leaders said last night they will open discussions of the strike with union representatives today.

Some employees attacked the University's policy toward striking employees. Several black workers and Buildings and Grounds (BandG) employees said that they were told they would be fired if they attended the afternoon strike meeting.

Secretaries at the Law School discovered yesterday morning that their duties were being performed by "scab workers" from Kelly Girls. Inc.

About 200 people confronted L. Gard Wiggins, administrative vice-president of the University, as he tried to go from Masachusetts to University Halls, following the noon rally on the steps of Memorial Church. They demanded that he clarify the University's policy toward striking workers.

Wiggins evaded the issue of the dismissal of two B and G workers- Reggie Smith and Poochie Evans, the only black applicant to the new B and G apprenticeship program- for absenteeism.

When asked directly whether the University would pay striking employees, Wiggins refused to answer. He did say that May is normally a busy month for the University, and that employees should be on the job.

Dean May said at yesterday's rally that "individual accommodations will be made for employees wishing to engage in political action," and when pressed indicated that he would pay his own employees who choose to strike.

May's statement is the only official statement since Pusey's declaration. Tuesday night sympathizing with workers protesting the President's action in Cambodia, and calling on all officers of the University to accommodate interruptions in normal procedures.

About 200 employees of the Harvard Medical area met Wednesday night to discuss possible strike action, but the meeting broke up into a number of smaller groups when no consensus could be reached.

Picket lines were up again throughout the University community yesterday, but participation shapely decreased. Libraries were virtually deserted, however, and further declines in the number of employees reporting for work were evident.

The striking employees' headquarters in Phillips Brooks House reported last night that employees will concentrate their efforts today on increasing picketing at key University buildings.

A meeting this morning on the steps of Widener Library will attempt to solidify a strike by University library employees. The strikers will protest the four deaths at Kent State as well as U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia.

Twelve striking Hilles Library employees sent a letter to Mrs. Bunting Wednesday emphasizing that their action was "an outgrowth of our deep concern," and not an "attack on Radcliffe College."

A statement by 12 employees from the Law School, William James, the Bio Labs, the Divinity School, Widener, and the Aiken Computation Center charged the administration with actively participating in the war effort, underpaying employees, and dividing employees in as many ways possible.

A meeting of about 150 students, employees, and faculty members of the Department of Economics yesterday passed a resolution recommending that department employees be permitted to engage in political activity without reprisal or loss of pay.