"I was at the Harvard Club last night, and there was no problem at all," Gordon added. "They have a few people picketing, but there's no chanting, no noise. It doesn't make any difference at all."
The Yale Club of New York last spring resolved a similar labor dispute with a raise of $93 a week for all employees over the next several years.
But the Harvard Club has refused an identical offer from its workers. Club representatives said the issue is one of control.
"The issue from our standpoint is not one of wages. It's not one of health care. The issue is who is going to run the club--whether it's the union or management," Armstrong said. "The way it is now, the union has control over us. It's the union that's running the club."
For example, Armstrong said, union rules prevent dishwashers from washing pots and potwashers from washing dishes.
Armstrong said the club wants "to end the strike a soon as possible." But the club is also seeking "the flexibility in the contract to redefine the jobs and to eliminate the regulations."
The club has incurred large legal expenses because of the strike, but Armstrong said the club operates "on a more economical basis" because it has not had to obey union work and pay rules.