Carpenters Strike Ends; Briggs Work Continues

As eastern Massachusetts carpenters returned to work yesterday after a strike lasting nearly six weeks. University officials said they were "optimistic" that work on the Briggs Cage athletic facility--planned to be the new home of the men's and women's basketball teams beginning this winter--will be completed in time for the men's dedication game scheduled for Nov. 29.

Last week, when representatives for the carpenters said the strike might not be over until Labor Day. Harbor officials said they were concerned that the cage would not be renovated in time for the special game against Stanford.

But George Oommen, special assistant to the vice-president for administration, said yesterday that the strike's end alleviates "a considerable amount" of worry that the facility won't be ready.

Still standing in the way of completion of the facility, is an ongoing strike by Boston-area masons. Oommen said the masons are needed for work on the locker rooms.

But sources within the labor unions predict that the masons will reach an agreement with local contractors and should be back on the job "within the next couple of days."

Oommen said if the masons go back to work in the near future. "we don't anticipate any problems with getting Briggs Cage ready in time for the dedication."

He added that no special overtime work has been planned to make up for lost time.

Throughout the Boston area, carpenters returned to work in full force yesterday for the first time since they walked off jobs June 16. The strike had stifled most construction jobs in eastern Massachusetts including work on the Red Line extension in Cambridge.

Ernest Walsh, head of Carpenters Local 67, said yesterday the carpenters were "very happy" to be back at work and were also happy with the terms of their new contract. Eight thousand carpenters approved a new pact Sunday.

The settlement came as somewhat of a surprise to outside observers after talks between the carpenters and the Associated General Contractors, the bargaining agent for area contractors, appeared to have reached a stalemate in negotiations, with both sides predicting that the strike could last until September.

"I think the contractors finally realized that we were very stern in our demands," Walsh said.

The strike ended in a compromise, with a contract for an additional $5.60 an hour over the next two years for Boston-area carpenters and $5 for others in eastern Massachusetts. The carpenters had originally demanded a $7 per hour hike across the board, while the contractors had offered only $4.