"We were pretty insistent that if they weren't going to allow us on the task force that had to be pretty clear in their publications that these changes weren't going to affect us," says Williams, who as president of HUCTW is the head of Harvard's largest bargaining unit.

The cuts and restructuring were originally intended to affect only faculty and non-union staff, as union members' benefits are set by contract and are determined in collective bargaining with the University.

Over the last several months, however, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), security guards and cleaning workers, and the Hotel Restaurant Institutional Employees Union (Local 26), dining hall workers, accepted the changes as part of a one year contract extension. Neither is a Harvard-based union, but both include numerous Harvard employees.

"I feel our union made a deal with Harvard," says an SEIU member who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "They only allowed us two days [to make the decision]."

The SEIU member says the approval of Harvard's cleaning workers swung the vote.

"It's been a long standing problem," says another security guard. "A lot of guards feel we shouldn't be in the same union."

But the security guard says he thinks the changes are positive. His Bay State premium will go down $5.

"I feel that's pretty good. I voted to accept the change. Who's going to complain?" he says. "The only people vocal against it was the parking unit. They felt they didn't have enough time to digest the information."

Another security guard, however, says the increased co-payments outweigh any reductions in premiums.

"We're paying more money. Mine went from five to 10. It's a 100 percent increase," the guard says. "We are probably the lowest-making unit. I think it's wrong. It's terribly wrong."

Like Margarida Amaral, the guard has a son in high school.

"Everyone with a family is going to get zapped," he says. "I've got a son going to college next year. It's tough."

For some employees, the promise of another year of security meant more than the possibility of increased costs.

"We took what was offered. You don't know what you're going to get down the road," says a security guard, a widow who has belonged to HUGHP for 15 years. "It's a bird in the hand versus two in the bush."

Domenic M. Bozotto, president of Local 26, and Kathleen Conway, SEIU business manager, could not be reached for comment.