A group of labor union shop stewards who work at Harvard Dining Services (HDS) are standing behind a fellow shop steward and HDS cook who was fired after charging that he was racially harassed.

And members of the Harvard-Radcliffe Labor Alliance (HRLA) said yesterday they will circulate a petition to marshall student support for the cook, Darryl Hicks, who was fired on April 2 by Dining Services Director Michael P. Berry.

The HRLA effort may be co-sponsored by the Black Students Association (BSA), according to BSA member Tymothi O. Tombar '94.

Hicks worked at the Freshman Union dining hall for more than five years, and was elected shop steward in 1990. In December, Hicks filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, charging that he was harassed on the job and denied a promotion because he is Black.

In an interview with The Crimson last month--before he was fired--Hicks said he was also discriminated against because he works as a steward.

According to Edward B. Childs, co-chief shop steward at Harvard for Local 26 of the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union, the University's dining hall shop stewards are united in their support of Hicks.

"The stewards have met about the Hicks case and we're upset and we want to do something about it, Childs Childs said. "We're coming up with a program to get his job back."

In the letter informing him of his termination, Berry said Hicks was being fired because of his "unacceptable performance and conduct as an employee."

Berry declined to comment on the case in an interview with The Crimson last week. His secretary said he was out of the country yesterday and could not be reached for comment.

Childs said he thinks Hicks was fired because of his race and because he is a vocal union activist.

"Why do I think he was fired?" Childs said. "One, because he's a steward. He's been speaking out. Two, he's Black. And three, he works at the Freshman Union. Those three things don't mix."

According to Childs, who has worked at the Adams House dining hall for nearly 17 years, the Freshman Union is known among Harvard's dining hall employees as a difficult place to work.

"Management has a history of racial prejudice, intimidation and threats," he said.

University Attorney Anne Taylor said Harvard's response to Hicks' charges will likely be filed with the MCAD today, more than two months after it was due. Last week, Taylor said the delay occurred because the complaint had been "lost."

HRLA member Dara Orenstein '96 said she tried to meet with Berry about the case last week, but the dining services director refused.

"He just said, 'It would be inappropriate and I can't meet with you,'" Orenstein said. "He made me feel uncomfortable, but I wouldn't say he was hostile or unfriendly."