Wellesley Strike Averted By Three year Contract

Averting a strike scheduled for today, Wellesley College and the union representing nearly 300 of its workers have settled on a three-year contract.

The agreement includes a 6 percent wage hike retroactive to last July 1, increased pensions, and a shorter lay-off period between semesters.

"I think employees are very happy with what they got," said Richard A. Russell, president of the local Independent Maintenance and Service Workers of America. "I think both sides thought it was a fair settlement."

An extra $10 per employee in medical insurance and a more comprehensive disability plan were also included in the settlement, Russell said.

Earlier this week the union--to which 280 Wellesley kitchen, custodial and construction workers belong--threatened to strike unless Wellesley offered more than its original 3.5 percent pay increase.

Students said a strike would have caused a major disturbance for the school because of the parents' weekend and the dedication of Wellesley's multi-million dollar sports complex scheduled over the next three days.

"Very honestly, our feeling was that we'd settle it," before the weekend, said Barry Monahan, the college's business manager. "Everything's working fine. I think the union staff is generally pleased."

The student government would have discussed whether they should support the strike had been carried out, said President Jody Gottlieb.

"I do think students were concerned about how they could help and what they would do had this gone on," said Gottlieb. Wellesley, a posh suburb of 28,000 located 12 miles west of Boston, has no inexpensive restaurants within walking distance of the college.