"Harvard is a foot dragger and a buck-passer," complained Sherman Holcombe this week, after the embattled shop steward of the Radcliffe dining halls was suspended Tuesday following an argument with his supervisor.

The argument, Holcombe says, was provoked by Richard J. Montville, the supervisor, after Holcombe presented him with a number of grievances concerning working conditions and hiring practices in the dining halls.

The immediate precipitating factor, Holcombe says, was that he began preparing a batch of cauliflower at a time that Montville thought was too early in the afternoon.

But both University officials and union leaders have been reluctant to discuss the details of the Holcombe case publicly, and have said that they will instead rely, at least initially, on the internal channels of grievance provided by the University.

Central to Holcombe's personal reinstatement drive is his contention that he will not be able to obtain a fair dispensation of his case through such channels. Edward W. Powers, director of employee relations, has repeatedly stated that he deplores Holcombe and Balsam's tactic of making public the details of the dispute before an internal University investigation is completed.

But Harvard apparently has yet to begin its investigation, or even to ascertain just who should conduct such an inquiry. And Holcombe is getting restless.

So he has taken his case to his co-workers and the students. And, according to Alan Balsam, chief shop steward for Local 26 of the Hotel Restaurant Employees Union, the drive to reinstate Holcombe is rapidly building momentum.

The union has filed a grievance on Holcombe's behalf with Harvard, and is currently circulating a petition demanding his immediate reinstatement; a number of student groups, including the Radcliffe-Harvard New American Movement, the Organization for the Solidarity of Third World Students, and the Committee Against Racism, have rallied to Holcombe's defense.

A spokesman for this ad hoc coalition announced yesterday that the students are planning to boycott Sunday's brunch in protest.

At weeks end, Balsam said his petition had already received nearly 300 signatures, and that "things will really begin happening" next week. Meanwhile, Holcombe says, he will continue to plot his strategy and, in his words, "find myself a soapbox and holler."