In 1991, Berj Manoukian retired from his 34-year stint as a postal carrier to become a part-time attendant at the Fogg Art Museum.

He thought the job would be a sound financial move and a welcome break from the demanding physical labor required by the United States Postal Service.

But Manoukian, 68, says he found working conditions at the Fogg worse than those at the post office. And the salary was so low that he soon had to switch to a more demanding full-time schedule.

"I should have stayed in the post office," Manoukian says.

It wasn't always this way at the Fogg. The 68-year-old attendant is just one of many employees who say working conditions at the museum have changed a lot in the last three years, mostly for the worse.

Part-time attendants say they are forced to work full time schedules without overtime pay. And full-time employees say they are afraid to take sick time when they are ill for fear of losing their jobs.

And when the attendants have tried to challenge the way they are being treated, the university is unable to provide them with the set of rules that supposedly govern life at the Fogg. Harvard has delayed printing up copies of the attendants' union contract for almost a year.

Several attendants spoke on condition ofanonymity because they said they fearedretaliation for publicly criticizing their bosses.

A Tight Ship

Michele M. Trifiro, the museum's chief ofsecurity, was hired in 1991 after an attemptedslashing of one of the paintings. She replacedBrad G. Wheeler, who, sources say, took the fallfor the attempted slashing.

After she was hired, Trifiro says she was givenfunding to upgrade the museum's security systemand to train her own staff of security guards.

"We have extra funding to upgrade the securitysince the [theft at the] Gardner," Trifiro says.

Trifiro says upgrades in the museum's securityforce were necessary because, despite theimportance of technology, a strong staff is vitalfor any good security system.

"You can protect your house with the mostelaborate system," Trifiro says, "but unlesssomeone is responding, it's not going to do a damnbit of good."

In some ways, Trifiro's tightened security haspaid off. Harvard police credit her with ending aseries of thefts of pictures from rare art bookslast September.

But several attendants claim that Trifiro,whose background is in the military, has goneoverboard in attempting to strengthen security.They say she is running the museum's security unitas if it were a military establishment.

One attendant, who spoke on condition ofanonymity, says the security force is frequentlyaddressed as though its members were the crew of aship. One staff list, in fact, refers toattendants being "on board."

"Michele thinks she's on a missile base," saysthe attendant.

Bill Sage, who recently quit as a union stewardfor the attendants, also says Trifiro uses herbackground in the armed forces to intimidate themuseum attendants.

"She's trying to run this place like a militarycamp," Sage says, "We're human beings, not in themilitary. She threatens every one, 'I'm going tofire you.'"

Trifiro rewards those who share her outlook,attendants say. Eric Hupp, a 22-year-old monitorat the Fogg's central station who began working atthe museum in 1992, also uses military terminologyin managing employees, attendants say.

Like Trifiro, Hupp has a military background.He worked in Germany translating Morse code. Huppsays his top-secret military clearance isimportant to his job at the Fogg.

"I have this top-secret clearance," Hupp says."When it comes to guarding a couple billiondollars of art, honesty and integrity are keypoints."

Hupp says the time he has spent around art hasinfluenced him. He has started taking creativewriting classes at the Extension School and isworking on the screenplay for a romantic comedy.

Still, Hupp says his job definitely comesbefore his artistic passion. During a recentsnowstorm he says he walked three miles to work inthe snow to replace attendants who could not makethe trip.

"You depend on each other," Hupps says. "It's asmall tight-fit organization."

But some attendants say the only people on theforce who are tight are favorites of Trifiro.

Hupp shot from being an attendant to asupervisor in just two months. In contrast, oneattendant says he was twice passed up foradvancement despite Trifiro's assurances that hewas doing his job well and despite a unioncontract requiring seniority preference inpromotions.

Agree to Disagree

Other attendants say they object to Trifiro'sinvolvement in union business. She has created anew staff of museum attendants who are not coveredunder the attendants' union agreement, sourcessay.

After taking over Fogg security, Trifiroabolished the longstanding practice of usingHarvard security guards to protect the Fogg andbegan hiring her own attendant staff.

The new staff is increasingly made up of"part-timers," who despite this designationfrequently work 40 hours a week.

One source familiar with the situation chargesthat the composition of the new staff is drivennot by a need for better security but by a desireto cut costs.

The source says Associate Director of LaborRelations Carolyn R. Young '76 and Trifiro removedHarvard security guards from the museum in orderto make more money. While Harvard guards receivedovertime pay for monitoring specific museumfunctions, the Fogg's own attendants receive onlytheir regular pay--and the museum gets asubstantial revenue boost.

"She's handling her own group now," Manoukiansays. "There are some things that sure are alittle too much, but I'm not running the show."

Trifiro attended part of a meeting of membersof the attendants' union at the Fogg Thursday.During the meeting, attendants questioned hermotives in creating a new pay category of"part-time" attendants.

Prior to a bargain struck last June betweenHarvard and the attendants' union--ServiceEmployees International Union Local 254--themuseum hired three different types of attendantsat three different levels of pay: day guards,night guards, and limited regular guards.

Under the union agreement which expiredNovember 15, 1992, but is still being used, dayguards are supposed to be paid $9.52 per hour.

But attendants hired since Trifiro's takeoversay they have been hired as a fourth class of dayattendants not covered by the contract: dayattendants who are paid only $7.35 per hour.

These attendants, who pay $12 each month inunion dues, say they have never seen a copy ofHarvard's current union agreement, which wassigned last June. Director of Labor RelationsTimothy Manning says the agreement is in effectbut has not been printed.

"The thing was negotiated last year and inrecent weeks we put the finishing touches on it,"Manning says.

Although Manning says he is unsure whether thenew agreement contains a new category ofattendant, he says attendants should not beconcerned about the University's year-long delayin producing a written copy of the agreement.

"I don't think it's a big deal [that] theydon't have a copy of the agreement," Manning says.

Kathleen Conway, the business agent for Local254, said last week that the contract had beennegotiated "but not physically completed."

"Folks do have a document that contains theconceptual changes and those things get foldedinto the contract structure," Conway says.

But none of the attendants interviewed saidthey had seen a document detailing any changes tothe contract they work under.

Conway, who is supposed to protect theattendants' interests in dealing with theUniversity, appears to have little understandingof the nature of working conditions at the Fogg.Conway, who attended Thursday's meeting, says shedoesn't even know if the agreement negotiated bythe union she works for permits the employment of$7.35 day guards.

Conway says the most drastic change in thecontract has been in the language used to describethe museum's security employees. The agreement,Conway says, changes the term for employees from"guards" to "attendants."

The change hasn't sunk in on all levels,however. Museum intraoffice memos written byTrifiro continue to refer to employees as"guards."

But a $7.35 day attendant who spoke on thecondition of anonymity says that, without anagreement, attendants are unable to protestTrifiro's unusually strict work requirements.

The attendant says almost all of Trifiro's newhires have been $7.35 day attendants who receivelimited benefits, no sick time and a lower payrate than full-time attendants.

Although the $7.35 day attendants are given aset schedule of 26 hours a week, Trifiro demandsthat they work up to--but not more than--40 hoursa week without receiving overtime.

Although day attendants are not allowed to workseven-day weeks, one attendant says he isroutinely forced to work nine consecutive days.The attendant also says Trifiro has manipulatedthe museum's work week to force them to work suchhours.

"You have a set schedule of 26 hours, but theyforce you to work more under threat of knockingyou down [to a lower pay rate]," the attendantsays.

And documents obtained by the Crimsonsubstantiate the attendant's account.

In a memorandum issued September 1, 1993,Trifiro warned the $7.35 day attendants that theywould receive written warnings each time theyrefused hours.

Trifiro said three warnings would result in"reclassification" or "resignation."

"The new $7.35 day guards are required, as partof their job description, to work extra hoursbeyond their normally scheduled shifts," Trifirowrote in the memo. "A $7.35 Day Guards (sic) mustbe able to work up to 40 hours per week as neededas a requirement of the position."

But attendants say Trifiro's calls to workextra hours can come at the last minute and cannotbe refused. At the same time, they say employeerequests to work overtime hours above the 40required of "part-timers" are never granted.

Dimitri Fane, a $7.35 day attendant who worksabout 40 hours a week, says he is afraid thatextra hours will interfere with his hobby ofplaying bass guitar for a local rock-and-rollband. He is careful to add, however, that noconflict has yet arisen.

"Part of the [job's] appeal is itsflexibility," Fane says.

Some $7.35 attendants, like Fane, say they aresatisfied with the lower pay and benefits.

But full-timers worry that the reduction of thesecurity force to a staff of part-timers workingfull-time hours may be a ploy to take away theirjobs.

At last Thursday's meeting, both full-time andpart-time attendants asked Conway, their union'sbusiness agent, to confirm or deny that an effortwas underway to supplant full time employees.

Notes of the meeting taken by an attendant andobtained by the Crimson indicate that Conway wouldnot explicitly deny that suggestion.

"Rumor that bargaining agreement is leadingtowards getting people (staff) all to part time,"the notes read. "[Conway] says that rumor iscompletely unsubstantiated."

At the same meeting, Conway warned attendantsthat morale problems were due to a negativeportrayal of security guards by the Universitypress.

Sage and other attendants at the meeting saythat Trifiro, in an apparent attempt to ward offpublic criticism, told them she would read thisarticle before publication. This reporter offeredto check Trifiro's own quotes with her, but theFogg's chief of security will read this articlefor the first time this morning.

Problems in the Union

Sage says he resigned his post as union stewardlast Wednesday because of his frustration with theunion's failure to represent the attendantsadequately.

"If there was a way of getting rid of theunion, I think we'd be better off," says Sage,adding that the union can not be blamed for thefailure to produce an agreement.

It's Harvard who's holding it up," Sage says."It's over a year now that the negotiationsstopped and we signed [the agreement]."

But the attendants Sage has represented ingrievances say he has contributed to the union'slegacy of ineptitude in representing them.

Other attendants say Sage is intimidated byTrifiro because he needs her approval for athree-month sick leave he will take beginning May6. Sage is scheduled to undergo a hip replacement.

Sage says there will likely be union electionsfor a new steward. Sources say Trifiro has talkedof exerting her influence in the selection of thenew steward, but Sage says this is unlikely.

Attendance Problems

Although attendants say they are frustrated bytheir lack of union representation, they have notabandoned the arbitration process.

Octavio Ramirez, a full-time attendant who hasworked at the museum for 11 years, filed agrievance against Trifiro last week alleging thathis boss is overly strict in restricting sickdays.

Ramirez says Trifiro has unfairly issuedwarnings saying he is abusing his sick time andrequired him to bring a doctor's note after eachabsence. By the expired November 1992 agreement,full-time attendants are allowed 15 days of sicktime each year.

"I was sick two days of storms and after thatshe called me into the office and gave me thewarning," Ramirez says. "My contract said that I'mallowed to take 15 days."

But Sage, who was Ramirez's unionrepresentative until last week, said he turned thegrievance process over to a union steward in theUniversity security guard unit.

And Sage says he supports Trifiro's strictlimitations on sick time.

"As far as sick times goes, Ramirez takes timeoff prior to his time off," Sage says. "Sick daysin Harvard are not to be used for days off orvacation time or anything like that."

In copies of the warning issued by Trifiro lastmonth and obtained by the crimson, the securitychief says Ramirez abused six of his seven sickdays in fiscal year 1994 by using them to extendhis weekends.

"We understand there may be times when you areill," Trifiro wrote. "However, sick time is abenefit provided to you as a means of paycontinuation when you are physically unable tocome to work. It is not intended, nor should beused, as an entitlement."

Ramirez says the grievance was denied byTrifiro. But he adds that he will continue topursue the matter with Trifiro's superiors.

"I wasn't abusing sickdays," Ramirez says, "Inmy contract I have the right to 15 days, and I'dmissed seven days when she wrote me up."

In two other written warnings, Trifiro saidRamirez's attendance pattern showed an abuse ofsick time because 11 of the 13 sick days he tookextended his weekend.

But Ramirez says he used the majority of thosesick days after the birth of his new baby. He saysTrifiro taunted him because of his wife'spregnancy by saying: "Are you going to have babiesevery year?"

Ramirez says he feels Trifiro manipulates hisfamily situation to threaten him withunemployment.

"Every time I call in sick, she always mentionsmy family," he says. "She says 'I know you have tofeed your kids.' In cases like that she shouldn'tuse your family."

Missing In Action

Attendants say Trifiro herself has a poorattendance record.

In a recent memo, Trifiro instructed her staffthat if they are unable to contact her on herradio, phone, or beeper, they should referinquiries to one of their supervisors.

One $7.35 day attendant says Trifiro may haveissued the memo because she is frequently absentfrom the museums.

"Up until recently, She was pretty scarce," theattendant says. "I was told that she takes a lotof days off because she gets work done at home."

Sage agrees that Trifiro is frequently hard tolocate at the museum.

"She's never around when anybody wants her,"Sage says. "Sometimes I call her at home duringthe day."

Troubled Times Ahead?

Sage's resignation, the attendants' confusionabout their union contract and Trifiro'smilitaristic style have caused a standstill at themuseum.

Despite University assurances that a copy ofthe contract is forthcoming, many attendantssimply don't know their rights. And with thedeparture of Sage, they have no representation,either.

"The museum right now has no representation,"Sage says, "There should be an election but thereare no names on the ballot."CrimsonEdward H. WuAttendants at The Fogg Museum allege thatreforms made by their boss, Michele M. Trifiro,have worsened working conditions in themuseum.