At the conclusion of his summation argument, prior to the decision, Gahan said: "Mr. Cronin is this year's target for certain groups in and around Harvard Square... This (the trial and the strike) has been a real nightmare for Mr. and Mrs. Cronin." Cronin himself had testified that the strike had cut his business by at least 65 per cent and was costing him about $11,000 a month.

And again the waitresses returned to the picket line. Cronin refused to reinstate the waitresses at an informal hearing arranged by the Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission.

More recently, striking waitresses met with Ackermann and presented her with charges that Cronin's Restaurant violates the state sanitary codes. At the meeting the waitresses said that David Harris president of the Cambridge Civic Association had agreed to sit on a committee to mediate the strike. Ackermann said she would be willing to sit on a committee to investigate the breakdown of negotiations between Cronin and the HSWOC.

Although Ackerman refused to say whether she supported the strike against Cronin's she contended that "people are entitled to organize, and waitresses in general are underpaid."

Erdmann said that the group had approached Ackermann because they felt the mayor would have a special interest in the working conditions of women. "She's not a stupid woman," Erdmann said. "She can see when people are using connections to circumvent the law."

The five-month old strike continues with no apparent end in sight. But the waitresses maintain that they are determined to be reinstated and to negotiate their demands with Cronin.