Students and Workers Protest Proposed Breakfast Cutbacks

Dining hall employees and students in Adams House are joining to oppose the administration's proposal to cut to five the number of dining halls serving full breakfasts.

Luther Regin '76 and Neva Seidman '78 said yesterday that they are distributing a petition against the plan that they drew up with Mary King, shop steward for Local Union 26 in Adams House.

King said yesterday that transferring dining hall workers to new shifts, which the proposal requires, would be inconvenient and even impossible for workers who have other jobs or family committments.

Efficiency

Edward W. Powers, director of employee relations, said yesterday he believes "the University does not exist to maintain a certain number of jobs" and should not let employees' complaints about transfers interfere with attempts to make departments more efficient.

"Harvard workers have gotten used to a kind of overprotection and are very short-sighted in trying to affect the University in this way," he said.

Although Harvard says the proposal involves no layoffs, King said she does not "believe they can avoid layoffs because the other shifts are already full."

The proposed plan, which would provide continental breakfasts of toast, milk, juice, and cereal in the Houses not serving full breakfasts, would save each student an average of $10 next year. The Committee on Houses and Undergraduate Life is scheduled to vote on the plan this Wednesday.

Meeting Tomorrow

The petition will be presented to Neil W. Gross '77, Adams House CHUL representative, at a meeting tomorrow evening to decide how the House will vote on Wednesday, Regin said. King said that dining hall workers would attend the meeting to explain their position on the proposed plan.

Regin said he was receiving strong support from "normally non-political individuals" although he regretted that there is no "permanent organization for keeping students and labor workers informed of each other's needs.