Power Plant Talks Continue In Marathon Bargaining Session

Negotiators for striking workers and management at Harvard's Medical Area Total Energy Plant met in a marathon session yesterday in an attempt to hammer out a contract settlement that would put an end to the ten-day-old walkout of engineers and assistants who run the plant.

As workers continued to picket outside the $230 million facility in Brookline, representatives of Local 877 of the International Union of Operating Engineers met with University officials and negotiators for the Medical Area Services Corporation (MASCO), which runs the plant on contract for Harvard, for more than 12 hours at the Federal Mediation Office in Boston.

John Martin, commissioner of the mediation office, said yesterday the parties were "swapping proposals."

"I'm optimistic about the negotiations, but I don't want to make premature statements. Just the fact that there's a dialogue is encouraging," he added.

Far Apart

Both sides declined to release details of the talks yesterday, but one source said the parties are still "quite far apart."

The primary points of contention in the bargaining are wage increases and work schedules, the source added.

The workers, who went on strike last week after four months of negotiations broke down, have charged MASCO with reneging on a promise of higher wages and regular work schedules. Last week, the picketing employees blocked several oil shipments to the plant. MASCO denied the employees' charges, saying it had left the issues open to debate.

MASCO supervisory personnel have worked 12-hour shifts since the 57 engineers walked off the job ten days ago. Steven A. Tritman, president of MASCO, said "there were no major problems" in the plant's operation yesterday.

Late last week, several picketing engineers at the plant--which services 13 hospitals and Medical School buildings in the Mission Hill area--said they saw black smoke spewing from the facility and heard smoke alarms sound. Tritman said the plant had experienced a "steam blowout, which has happened every so often" since the plant started operating this summer.

Negotiations are expected to continue today.

The workers are seeking a two-year contract with successive 15-and 12-percent raises, as well as an 18-month transition to regular work schedules. They currently alternate between day and night shifts.

MASCO's latest public offer included a one-year deal calling for a 10-per-cent wage increase, with work schedules open to further discussion