Union Elects First New President in Decade of Existence

For the first time since its founding a decade ago, the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) has a new president.

Adrienne R. Landau, who works at the University Health Services Center for Wellness, was elected to the office last night with about 71 percent of the vote.

Her opponent, Thomas E. Potter, Jr., a faculty secretary at Harvard Law School, received about 29 percent of the vote.

Union officials said almost 29 percent of its members voted.

Landau will replace founding president Domene M. Williams as the leader of the 2900 member union. Williams, who ran on a ticket with Landau, will take over as treasurer.

The presidency was the only contested position in the 15-seat race for positions as union officers and executive board members.

Gloria Buffonge and Thomasin Guenard, who both ran on the same ticket as Landau and Williams, were elected vice president and secretary respectively.

Landau said she sees her first goal as establishing herself in her new office and becoming comfortable presiding over the union and the executive board.

She said she is prepared to lead HUCTW because she has served "as a negotiator and a partner with other union leaders, members and University administrators."

Landau also pointed to her past involvement "at all levels of our union business, be it problem solving with an individual and her supervisor or negotiating salary and benefits."

Citing conflicts that arose with the University during the 1992 and 1995 contract negotiations, Landau said she hopes to avoid such open contention in the future.

"[I hope to get] a lot of work done because we're not in a battle," she said.

Landau said she will work for reform of the casual payroll and the job classification system, improvement of retirement benefits, increased training opportunities, and a continuation of the union's work concerning other quality of life and job classification issues.

She also said she hopes to continue the union's work with student groups.

Both Landau and Williams said voter turnout could have been higher.

"[It was] a little light," Williams said, adding that she was not too surprised by the low turnout since neither candidate had held campus-wide office before.

Potter could not be reached yesterday for comment.

Williams characterized her 10-year term as president as "one of the greatest experiences of [her] life."

Describing the biggest accomplishment of her tenure, Williams said, "Union members are now involved in the decisions that affect their lives."

Williams said she looks forward to a lightened workload that will allow her to take classes on workplace injury and flexibility in accommodating disabled workers

Williams characterized her 10-year term as president as "one of the greatest experiences of [her] life."

Describing the biggest accomplishment of her tenure, Williams said, "Union members are now involved in the decisions that affect their lives."

Williams said she looks forward to a lightened workload that will allow her to take classes on workplace injury and flexibility in accommodating disabled workers