Negotiations
For the rest of Harvard's unions, though, a bird in the hand wasn't good enough.
"I think [the administration] hoped our union would help break the other unions," says a member of SEIU." [But] the coalition would not go along."
The University has only had preliminary talks with the other unions about accepting the changes, administration and union officials say.
"I think that they knew at some point early in the process...that they would then next propose this to the unions," Williams says.
"But the real mystery over here is who thought that would work," HUCTW Director Bill Jaeger adds.
The Harvard police officers' union opted for union solidarity over short-term security in rejecting the offer.
"I felt it should have been negotiated," says Officer Robert Kotowski, union president. "At this juncture, the only way I'd discuss benefits is in [contract] negotiations."
Kotowski says that, in part, the police officers rejected the offer in order to maintain the coalition.
"We stand in the same lines and have the same beliefs as the clerical workers," he says. "We weren't real happy with the way the package was presented, but we're hopeful that we can work to make changes that are more accommodating to our position."
So for at least the next year, the University will administer two completely different benefits program.
"We have a letter in our contract that states that we should not pay any more than any other bargaining unit in the University," says one security guard. "I believe that this directly violates the...contract."
The contracts of the Harvard-based unions will expire over the spring and early summer.
"It wouldn't be surprising for us to start negotiations any time soon," Williams says.
Zeckhauser and Corvey say they are involved in ongoing discussions with the unions.
There is no indication when formal negotiations might begin, however. Timothy Manning, director of labor relations, did not return repeated phone calls.
The last negotiations with HUCTW lasted for a year and went on six months past the June 30, 1992 contract expiration. Talks stalled on issues involving wages, job security and child care.
And if the University aims to make the current changes part of the unions' next contract, the negotiations could be just as drawn out as they were in 1992.
We're expecting it's going to be a wild year," Jaeger says.