More than 75 members of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers marched in costume last night to the home of President Neil L. Rudenstine, where they held a Halloween ceremony to protest University management's conduct during on going contract negotiations.

Holding candles shaded by paper cups, the protesters marched in circles chanting, "Darkness, darkness, crescent moon, we need to have a contract soon," among other slogans.

Many union members brought along their small children, who also wore masks and contributed to the festive atmosphere.

The group then stood still facing the President's home and, after a brief moment of silence, howled and laughed diabolically.

Union President Donene M. Williams, sporting a pointed witch's hat, stood next to an oblong cardboard box painted with flames.

As Williams stirred the brew with a stick, other union members deposited into the "cauldron" placards featuring demands for wage raises, health-care coverage and fairness for domestic partners.

Williams announced that she would leave the cauldron for "our good friend Neil." Rudenstine was in Washington, D.C.

Other slogans chanted at the protest included "Stir the cauldron, stoke the flame, Harvard you should be ashamed" and "It shouldn't take a magic spell to make these contract talks go well."

The contract between the 3,600 member union and the University expired June 30.

Progress in the negotiations on a new contract is "incredibly slow," union Chief Negotiator Bill Jaeger said in an interview earlier yesterday.

"The management negotiators can sometimes take hours to try to draft half a sentence," Jaeger said. "At some times it seems to be complete paralysis of the management team."

Harvard Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs John H. Shattuck attributed the slow pace to prudence and care in dealing with difficult issues. "I think it's going very deliberately and I hope productively," Shattuck said.

"These are very difficult issues. These are very difficult times," Shattuck said, mentioning difficult conditions in the national economy.

Union and management negotiating teams have been meeting about once a week for intensive sessions assisted by outside mediators, Jaeger said. A Wednesday bargaining session in Holyoke Center lasted from 4 to 11 p.m., Jaeger said.

"It was inches of progress," Jaeger said. "We do think the University's negotiators are doing a poor job of trying to listen and respect the ideas that we put forward."

Both sides says economic issues are at the center of the labor-management dispute.

Last week, undergraduate representatives of the Harvard-Radcliffe Labor al- liance met with Rudenstine to ask him toexamine the use of non-union labor on some Harvardelectric work. They also urged him to become morepersonally involved in negotiations with the unionof clerical and technical workers