Employees, SLAM Protest on Behalf of Fired Worker

Wearing green union T-shirts and white "REHIRE JOAN" stickers, about 30 Harvard employees, students, and community members staged a rally yesterday evening protesting the termination of Joan Frankel, a former University employee of 25 years.

"Justice for Joan! Justice for Joan!" the group chanted as it marched through Harvard Yard to Pierce Hall where Frankel was stationed as a School of Engineering and Applied Science financial assistant for 25 years.

Frankel, a member of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, was fired on July 6 after receiving two disciplinary letters in May and June, according to a flier handed out at the protest. Frankel had received "excellent performance reviews for 24 straight years" prior to 2010, according to the flier.

"I have done nothing to justify this," said Frankel, who spoke at the rally. "If I don’t find a job soon, I’ll be receiving less than half of the pension I would get if I retired at 65. I can’t even pay my rent with that."

Many demonstrators described Frankel’s termination as "unfair," "ridiculous," and "unjust," claiming that Frankel was fired because her salary and full pension cost the University more than it would like to spend.

"I think this is outrageous," said Neal J. Meyer ’11, a Student Labor Action Movement member who participated in the protest. "Joan worked at Harvard for many years with great reviews, but it was too expensive for Harvard to keep her."

"Harvard fired her the day after her mother died," said Abigail S. Brown '11-'12. "I think there’s a lot of humanity missing there on the University’s part."

HUCTW representative Geoff Carens said the union’s contract allows employees bereavement leave. Frankel’s termination the day after her mother’s death "disregarded" the Union’s contract, according to Carens, who organized the rally with members of the "No Layoff Campaign," a group also known as "Reform HUCTW."

Since her termination in July, Frankel said she has unsuccessfully applied for 34 University jobs.

University spokesperson Kevin Galvin and HUCTW Director Bill Jaeger declined to comment on the rally or Frankel’s case.

"We’re going to be doing this all year—as long as it takes for the wrongs that have been done to Joan are made right," Carens said.

"We’ll be back! We’ll be back!" the crowd chanted outside the Pierce Building at the rally’s conclusion.

—Staff writer Tara W. Merrigan can be reached at tmerrigan@college.harvard.edu.