Democrats Appeal To Summers on Wages

The Harvard College Democrats want President Lawrence H. Summers to go beyond the recommendations of a recent wage report to establish a “living wage” for the University.

In a letter to Summers, the group specifically calls for him “to support the suggestions made by [the Harvard Committee on Employment and Contracting Policies], to set an annually indexed wage floor, and to abolish the practice of outsourcing.”

“The Democratic Party is a strong supporter of the rights of workers and organized labor,” the letter reads. “The Harvard College Democrats thus supports the driving principles behind HCECP’s recommendations, and we have a history of such support.”

The HCECP report, released in December, recommends that the University increase wages to at least $10.83 to $11.30 per hour for all service employees, and establish parity wages for subcontracted employees.

The report does not call for an annually adjusted living wage.

“We understand that there are a number of considerations which had to be taken into account,” said R. Gerard McGeary ’04, Campus Outreach Director of the Harvard College Democrats and the drafter of the letter. “But we definitely didn’t want it to be driven by everyday market principles.”

The letter, which recognizes Summers as “a man who has shown commitment to the Democratic Party and to its principles,” was also intended to show support for Summers, McGeary said.

The group has not yet received a response, McGeary said.

University spokesperson Joe Wrinn said yesterday that he expects Summers to reach a formal decision regarding implementation of the HCECP’s recommendations “in the next few short weeks.”

“President Summers has spent the past few weeks listening to opinions from different demographics,” Wrinn said. “He’s carefully considering this.”

—Staff writer Alexander J. Blenkinsopp can be reached at blenkins@fas.harvard.edu.