Green Responds to HUCTW Concerns

Provost Jerry R. Green has sent a letter to the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers expressing his surprise that the union was upset about the composition of a new University task force charged with reviewing employee benefits.

The union had earlier expressed concern that it had not been adequately consulted about the task force, which is composed entirely of administrators.

Green said that the task force had intended that several advisory committees would provide input from employees. Groups currently planned represent faculty members, retired employees, union members and administrative and professional staff, among others.

Green, who is chair of the task force, said that the union and the others represented by the advisory committees had been told the approximate structure of the task force and the committees by the Office of Human Resources before they were officially announced in the Harvard Gazette.

"I was very surprised by the letter which [the union] wrote," Green said.

But union Director Bill Jaeger said the union had not known that it would be represented by an advisory committee rather than directly on the task force.

"We were never involved in any discussion about how the benefits process would work except in a very broad sense," he said. "The notion of advisory groups was one we didn't hear about until the week after his letter."

Jaeger said that the union hopes to set up a meeting with Green in the near future to discuss their concerns. "We'd be interested in some discussion taking the place of nasty letters," he said.

Union leaders have received Green's letter, but Jaeger said they have notyet decided on a next step.

"The members of our executive board received aletter from him last week which I would describeas somewhat apologetic...it was beginning todescribe a more inclusive process," Jaeger said.

"The leaders of our union have had discussionsalmost constantly over the past week and a halfabout how to become more deeply involved," hesaid.

The task force, named Oct. 29, will examinebenefits provided to faculty and staff in anattempt to cut costs and to deal with nationalhealth care reform

"The members of our executive board received aletter from him last week which I would describeas somewhat apologetic...it was beginning todescribe a more inclusive process," Jaeger said.

"The leaders of our union have had discussionsalmost constantly over the past week and a halfabout how to become more deeply involved," hesaid.

The task force, named Oct. 29, will examinebenefits provided to faculty and staff in anattempt to cut costs and to deal with nationalhealth care reform