Union Celebrates Victory

"We can't wait to negotiate, we say it loud and clear," sang the Pipettes at the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers' Christmas party yesterday evening at the University Lutheran Church.

With little kids scampering in between tables laden with hors d'oevres and plastic glasses of white wine, about 100 union members and their supporters gathered to make merry. While the Pipettes didn't quite sing Handel's "Messiah," their tunes lofted across the church's crowded rooms, creating a distinctive mixture of Christmas spirit and union activism.

But the party wasn't all fun and games, as HUCTW leaders also intended the gathering to serve both organizational and philanthropic purposes, they said.

"There are lots of people from other unions, the students body, the faculty and the community who have helped us through thick and thin. This is our way to give something back," said Kris Rondeau, HUCTW's director.

Union organizers also used the party to make their "first act of outreach as a union"--a $2,000 donation to Phillips Brooks House's homeless shelter, which is run out of the Lutheran Church.

"We're neighbours, and when we see people lined up every night at nine o'clock, we know it's a great service to help the people who run the shelter," Rondeau said. Rondeau said the funds were raised from union supporters and members.

PBH

Phillips Brooks House has been a long-standing supporter of the HUCTW ever since it allowed the union to meet in its building in the 1970s, said Fred W. King, a member of the HUCTW transition team. The union began its relationship with the Lutheran church when it moved into the offices across the street.

When addressing the festive group, Fred Reisz, pastor of the church and advisor to the shelter, said, "When you all moved in across the street, we kind of wondered." But he went on to express his thanks for their support.

Besides union members, other party-goers included undergraduate and graduate union supporters, faculty and students from nearby colleges. "I think people from everywhere in the University are represented," said Martin F. Brennan '89.

This cross-section of Harvard and Cambridge people also gave the union a chance to give the festivities a strongly political note. "We need the support of the community as we go into contract negotiations," said Kaye Wild, a party organizer.

"One of the most important pieces of the organization has been to affirm and reaffirm that we're not members of the 'Me generation.' This party is a way of showing that," Rondeau said.