Step by Step by Step . . .

The Harvard University Employees Representative Association (HUERA) was Harvard's first union, founded in 1938 and originally representing all of the University's unionized employees. Other workers, such as dining hall, police and printers, eventually splintered from HUERA, calling it a company union--one that accepts everything management wants.

Since early 1979, when it last held elections, HUERA has had a number of clashes with Harvard, climaxing this summer with the unfair labor practice charge now under investigation by the National Labor Relations Board. While internal disagreements have not consistently hampered the University's largest union--it represents nearly 500 custodians and 50 security guards, about as many employees in total as the dining workers union--HUERA's politics in the last two years have hardly proved dull, as the following chronology attests.

February, 1979: The union holds its election of officers, with Charles Crockett and Darleen Bonislawski running on the same ticket for president and vice president. Incumbent president Mary Mullen opposes them. Bonislawski wins the vice presidency, but Mullen and Crockett finish tied for president.

The union's nine-member executive board declares one ballot favoring Crockett invalid, but calls for another election to determine the presidency. Two months later, Crockett wins by a wide margin, because, one source explains, "Mullen didn't let the people know the spoiled ballot wasn't her fault, that it wasn't trickery. She just sat around, and Charlie won going away."

November 30, 1979: HUERA's old contract expires, and leaders pledge to fight the University tooth-and-nail. Crockett says, "Harvard doesn't like to give up money. They say they're broke, but then they build a $100,000 building." Bonislawski says, "It really gets to me when Harvard says workers are a dime a dozen. We should have the benefits of the wealth we help produce."

February, 1980: The union, settles for Harvard's original contract offer, a three-year deal calling for successive 10-9- and 8-per cent wage increases and minimal improvements in fringe benefits. Harvard's five other unions eventually agree to the 10-9-8. Fred Walden, vice president of the local representing the University's kitchen workers, acknowledges in June that "once HUERA settled for the 10-9-8, the other unions knew they couldn't get much more."

Soon after the HUERA contract signing, Bonislawski and fellow union executive Edward Gardin file a grievance against the University on behalf of the union's part-time workers. The University, the grievance charges, has violated the contract by assigning part-time workers promoted to full-time jobs to the bottom of the seniority list.

March, 1980: Crockett and a majority of the union's executive board do not support the grievance on behalf of the part-timers. But late in the month, Bonislawski and Gardin allege, the University begins to put heat on them for union activity. The two decide to file a grievance of their own.

April, 1980: "I was being followed around and watched--they tried to play with my mind," Gardin says of this time period. On April 5, Bonislawski meets with Paul Smith, manager of custodial services for Buildings and Grounds (B&G), in the second step of the grievance proceeding. The first step--a meeting between the employee and the supervisor--passes without resolution. Bonislawski alleges that Smith threatened her because of union activity.

May, 1980: On May 9, Gardin meets with William Lee personnel administrator in B & G. Gardin says Lee "threatened to fire me if I continued to cause trouble for management. He said I had made some important people mad at me."

Summer, 1980: The grievance reaches its third and final step before arbitration, a hearing in front of Edward W. Powers, associate general counsel for employee relations and chief negotiator for Harvard. Powers says the union's original position in the grievance was that Bonislawski and Gardin had received permission to attend the meetings.

"They said they got permission, and when the foremen swore they didn't, they didn't want to go to arbitration, because the facts were stacked against them," Powers says. "Instead, the union changed its position in mid-stream, saying they didn't need permission to attend the meetings," he adds.

HUERA subsequently files an unfair labor practice suit with the NLRB, listing the incidents of March, April and May. The NLRB in turn issues a complaint without speaking to Crockett or other principals involved.

Fall 1980: The union's executive board becomes outraged when it discovers Crockett does not support its unfair labor practice suit, and demands his resignation.

Gardin says Crockett spoke with a University lawyer without having the union's attorney present, and signed an affadavit disagreeing with HUERA's unfair labor practice charge. In an emotional September union board meeting, Crockett gives a resignation speech. He later rescinds his resignation offer, but the board holds another meeting without inviting Crockett and accepts his resignation.

Meanwhile, Harvard refuses to deal with anyone but Crockett, who maintains to Powers that he is still president. HUERA's executive board is livid, and files suit in Middlesex Superior Court in an attempt to get an injunction which would restrain Crockett from conducting union business.

The suit, filed in the names of Bonislawski, Gardin, and Charles Mackey on behalf of the executive board, contends that Crockett defied the orders of the union's governing board by signing a letter on the rights and wages of part-time workers after getting directions not to.

The judge declines to issue a preliminary injunction, saying no irreparable harm was done to the union and that Harvard should be joined in the case as a necessary party--in other words, that the incident was not strictly an internal union matter.

This week: The executive board tentatively reinstates Crockett, but removes his exclusive signing rights as president. From now on, all official documents must be signed by HUERA's president and another union executive. The NLRB investigation continues.

February, 1981: HUERA will hold its next election, and sources say either Bonislawski or Gardin will run for president. Crockett this week indicated he may seek re-election.