Food Service Union OKs Contract, Pay Raise

The union representing Harvard's food service employees reached a contract agreement with the University late last week after months of often heated negotiations, according to Harvard officials and union members.

The Hotel and Restaurant Workers union Local 26 on Thursday agreed to a final contract which includes a 14 percent pay hike over three years for Harvard's 550 food service workers, and concessions from the University on the hotly debated question of subcontracting its dining halls, union representatives said.

Elected representatives of the workers voted 19-1 to approve the University's offer, averting a strike union leaders had threatened if Harvard did not offer a suitable contract or an extension of negotiations.

Thursday's agreement came on the last day of a two-week extension of talks. The union's previous three-year contract expired in late May.

"It's a real compromise agreement," said Edward W. Powers, Harvard's general counsel for labor relations. "It wasn't a Harvard victory or a union victory; the employees won."

Harvard, according to the new contract, is now required to notify the union 90 days in advance of any contracting out, said Powers. If Harvard does contract out--that is, hire an outside firm to manage any of its 14 dining halls--the contractor is required to recognize the union. Additionally, the agreement continues a clause guaranteeing no lay- offs as a result of contracting out.

It is this clause, according to Powers, thatprevents Harvard from contracting out theundergraduate dining halls. If it did so, it wouldnot be able to provide all of its currentemployees with jobs elsewhere on campus.

After two separate attempts by outside foodservice firms to manage the the Faculty Club metwith worker dissatisfaction and failed toeliminate the club's running deficit, Powers saidin-house managers will run the club in the future.

Although the limits on sub-contracting markedconcessions for Harvard, the union also gave in onsome issues, such as their demand for one contractfor workers at the Harvard Business School'sKresge dining hall, where workers have separatecontracts with Harvard and Marriott, an outsidemanagement firm.

Kresge employees will continue to have twocontracts.

Another concession on the union's partconsisted of the phasing out of some practices atthe Faculty Club such as overtime pay, a waitressthere said. Overtime pay for weekends will beeliminated by next June, she said.

Domenic M. Bozzotto, president of Local 26,could not be reached for comment.

Only a small group of workers, primarilywaitresses at the Faculty Club, were unhappy withthe contract, she said. "But the majority ruled,and everybody else got what they wanted. Bozzottoand Powers were both happy."

Workers at both the Faculty Club and thecollege dining halls were pleased with thedecision not to strike, and with the pay raise."It's a good contract, and the raise is good forthe times," said Ronnie M. Blackman, shop stewardat Kresge