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."

HRLA leader Joshua L. Oppenheimer '96 said the alliance would likely begin its petition campaign later this week by tabling at the Freshman Union for signatures in support of Hicks.

The petition will also urge changes in HDS management, Oppenheimer said, as well as call for action on the issue of worker sick leave, break time, disciplinary write-ups, and alleged retaliation against workers who file grievances.

Oppenheimer said he plans to discuss the Hicks case and more general issues in a meeting today with Director of Human Resources Diane B. Patrick.

Several dining hall workers have told The Crimson they were forced to work even when sick, a charge Berry denied. The workers spoke on condition of anonymity, many of them saying they feared reprisals from HDS management.

"Our position is that not only should Darryl get his job back, but his termination is a symptom of the old sickness in the dining services, particularly at the Union," Oppenheimer said. "I really think it's a climate of unfair labor practices, of dehumanization, and I think more than that, Darryl's story really shows us that it's also a climate of racism."

Assistant Chief Shop Steward James H. Neil, on disability leave from the central College Dining Hall, said shop stewards in particular have had difficulties working in Harvard dining halls.

"If you talk out, they think they don't have to go by the book," Neil said. "They'll kind of make it hard for you, try to put some kind of pressure on you."

But former HDS Assistant Director for Administration Dale M. Hennessey said HDS managers do not threaten their workers.

"Shop stewards are elected to represent the employees and they speak for them, so hopefully their voices are heard without fear of retaliation," said Hennessey who recently left Harvard to become director of food services at Mount Holyoke College.

"The dining services I know had an open door policy," Hennessey said. "I think we worked very hard at trying to make the employees feel they had a voice."

But in interviews with The Crimson last week, several of Hicks' co-workers at the College's largest dining hall echoed his complaints about discrimination and harassment. One employee said "morale sucks" at the Freshman Union.

BSA's Tombar said he would investigate the firing by talking to Hicks and other workers at the Union before making a presentation to BSA members at the group's meeting tomorrow night.

"If all the information is consistent with what [Oppenheimer] told me, then I don't think there will be a problem with our getting involved [with the petition effort]," Tombar said. "We'll probably make some decisions by Wednesday night.