Harvard's Guards Phasing Out

Last year, you could have asked any Harvard security guard about their job security and probably would have gotten the same answer: "I won't be here." Now in the fall of 1999, most aren't.

There are, by the count of University officials, less than 25 uniformed Harvard guards on campus. Most guard booths are now staffed by subcontracted security guards.

That's down from nearly 50 Harvard security guards a year ago. And, in a year from now, there will likely be less than 20.

Last Thursday, a handful of senior guards retired, accepting a University-offered buyout of their contract.

The remaining guards, part of the union which also represents Harvard's parking attendants and Fogg Museum guards, do have a new contract--their first since becoming an independent labor organization in 1995.

But few are happy--though a large majority signed the deal this summer.

They allege that the University has sacrificed security to profit, holding out on a new contract while hiring cheaper, outsourced guards. Since the contract was ratified in July, the union has filed several complaints against the University.

Stephen G. McCombe, the president of the guards' union, declined to comment for this story.

The guards themselves were not as circumspect. But even with a University promise that they won't lose their jobs without just cause, all those interviewed asked not to be identified.

Changing of the Guards

Harvard's dwindling in-house guard force now works side-by-side with guards from the Malden-based Security Systems Incorporated (SSI), the grey uniforms with the flashy Harvard patch differing from the dark blues worn by the SSI guards.

SSI's employment in the Houses represents a victory for budget of the University and for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS)--the new guards are cheaper and on average have undergone a more comprehensive training regimen than Harvard's proprietary force.

Outsourcing the guards has been on the minds of University and FAS officials for several years now. But they deny a concerted effort to replace the proprietary force with a contract agency.

"I don't think we've been pushing, [but] we've certainly been concerned with the performance of the guard service," said Michael N. Lichten, director of physical resources for FAS.

Lichten, who is responsible for ensuring that FAS facilities have adequate security, said he first employed SSI guards in the Harvard Biomedical Research Laboratories after learning from his counterparts at the other Harvard schools of the company's impressive track record.

"Before we engaged them there, we did look very closely at their performance at the medical school, and [medical school officials] were very happy," he says.

At the medical school and in the biology labs, SSI guards reported to their own supervisors, who in turn report to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) and the physical resource managers of the faculties.

When the time came to staff the new Barker Center, Lichten says he turned to SSI--another successful experience.

Summer Heat

After years of lethargy, the pace of the negotiations between the old guards' union and Harvard gathered speed at the insistence of the mediator, John Martin, a veteran of Harvard labor negotiations.

In April, University officials came to a conclusion among themselves: The labor problem had to be resolved when students came back to school in the fall. So, with renewed effort, the University made concessions.

They made a buyout package for older guards more attractive. The remaining guards secured a promise that they would not lose their jobs to outsourcing.

"The University made it clear that it was important to bring the negotiations to a resolution," says one University official.

The guards responded in kind. Sources with knowledge of their perspective in the negotiations said the rank-and-file soon realized that this was it--they had to sign a new contract or lose their jobs.

So in June, the University rented a conference room at Cambridge's Holiday Inn. For days on end, union negotiators, led by attorney Randall Nash, and Harvard negotiators, led by director of labor relations Kim A. Roberts '78, hashed out the details of a new contract.

Some nights, the negotiation sessions would go until 4 a.m., with 20 people crowded into a small conference room. Both union and University officials said the talks were tough--often acrimonious but always businesslike.

"There were some very difficult business realities that were focused on the guards," says one Harvard official.

Making Progress

Slowly, thorny issues were resolved. The wage structure--which had rewarded long-time guards--was changed so that newer guards often got a wage boost, the official said.

The guards, in turn, granted HUPD direct control over their scheduling assignments.

Arcane and complex union rules had sometimes prevented empty security posts from being filled, sometimes requiring HUPD to post uniformed officers to take up the slack.

In late June, the University made its final proposals, which included cuts in vacation pay and no increase in sick time.

Very reluctantly, the union's negotiating board voted to present the contract to the full union in early July. On July 8, the union approved the contract with few dissenting votes.

This lack of opposition doesn't mean the union members liked Harvard's offer, said an 11-year veteran guard who asked not to be identified.

"We voted because we had to. We had no choice," he says.

For HUPD Chief Francis H. "Bud" Riley, who is responsible for security on campus, problems remained.

"We didn't have enough guards to fill the houses," he says.

Alterted by Riley and the University, FAS Administrators contacted SSI about employing more than a dozen guards to fill those holes left by departing Harvard guards when school began in September.

Harvard had been impressed with how SSI guards had performed during Commencement exercises, when they supplemented the regular force and helped with crowd control.

"They made a hugely positive impression," Riley says.

SSI guards already patrolled the Law School, the Medical School, the Business School, and the Barker Center. SSI supervisors were familiar with the routines of the University.

FAS gave House masters, who might have grown accustomed to a certain guard, the option of retaining a familiar face. According to University officials, only two houses--Lowell and Adams--opted to keep the old guards in the gray shirts. At Lowell, an old Harvard guard now wears an SSI uniform, and last week longtime Adams guard Dan Gibbons retired and will be replaced by an SSI guard.

Now, Harvard's proprietary force protects the Yard, Memorial Hall, the Science Center, William James Hall, and the Kennedy School of Government. They're mostly clustered around the Yard area to make management easier, officials said.

"It's easier to manage the guards when they're in the same place," Riley says.

The Future

The proprietary guard unit will officially remain in existence until 2001, when the newly signed contract expires.

But if Harvard guards quit or resign, University officials say they will be replaced with guards from SSI or another contracting agency. So the proprietary force can only get smaller.

According to University officials, two SSI guards can be employed for the price of one Harvard guard--a huge savings for facilities budgets.

Although current guards refused to disclose their pay, one guard did say that, as an SSI guard, he would make "a lot less" than if he was a Harvard guard.

Some Harvard guards have decided to join SSI.

Mike Cavanaugh, a 10-year veteran of the Harvard force, has accepted a University buyout of his Harvard contract--and accepted a job offer from SSI. He'll switch uniforms, but he will likely remain in place at Lowell House.

For University and HUPD officials monitoring security, so far, so good.

"Our experience has been all positive," Lichten says.

But some students say they've noticed the change.

Albert K. Kim '99-'00 used an Adams House e-mail list to protest Gibbons' departure. The e-mail message he sent praises Gibbons for the personal touch he brought to Adams.

"We have all seen Dan patrolling after hours, making sure the grounds are secure. We know that his extensive knowledge of the House layout and operation has made him invaluable in maintaining the level of security we have come to take for granted," Kim wrote in the message.