"It's busy," said one worker. "If you can't get away, you make mistakes when you get tired and stressed out. And with the work we do, that's playing with people's lives."
Workers described a laboratory which made for a stressful working environment with low employee morale. They said Skane and other lab professionals were abusive towards members of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, particularly during contract negotiations last year.
Two of the employees, who were non-union, said they were instructed not to speak with union workers unless it was absolutely necessary. Skane had also attempted to mete out discipline to employees without first permitting them union representation, workers said.
And workers said union literature was removed by laboratory management when it was posted. "It went right back up, though," said one worker.
The employees said they were reluctant to approach Skane with these and other problems.
"A lot of workers are afraid to approach her," said one worker. "She's very vindictive."
Skane and Rosenthal did not return phone calls yesterday.
Margaret Boyer contributed to the reporting of this story.