* Wage increases for each of the contract's five years. Dining services workers will enjoy a $0.40/hour raise in the first year, a $0.35/hour increase in the second year, and a $0.30/hour increase in each of the contract's final three years.

* An expanded use of sick days for dining services workers. The workers can now use three of the days for family emergencies, in addition to their own illnesses.

* Language guaranteeing that all disciplinary notices are sent to the union. Union members said this change brings more stability to the grievance procedure. "[Workers] feel a little more secure that way," Bozzotto said. "They don't have to worry about managers trying to stuff their personnel files."

* Language saying that the University will aggressively encourage workers to seek promotions. The University will offer information on how workers can advance within Harvard, Bozzotto said.

* The establishment of several long-range committees. The University and the union will have new vehicles to explore seniority and how it should be applied in selecting workers for summer jobs; the overlap between the benefits offered for sick days and for short-term disabilities; and work rules, with the aim of fostering cooperation and making sure that the dining halls keep pace with technological advancements.

Turnaround

Before the final round of negotiations began on June 19, union leaders had been preparing for the worst. All along, union leaders had accused Manning of refusing to bargain in good faith.

And Bozzotto, who described both himself and his union as "confrontational," said he was anticipating a strike. In fact, union leaders were so sure that a shutdown was on the way that they had already given picketing and civil disobedience assignments to workers in the union for the day after negotiations.

But Manning made what Finklea termed a "360-degree turnaround" at the final round on June 19 at the Local 26 offices on Berkeley Street.

"Sometimes people's egos get in their way with negotiation," Bozzotto said. "What he did was in a sense check his ego at the door and really filter through the pros and cons of all the issues that were raised, and then come up with ways that it could be settled."

Bozzotto, who has served as president of Local 26 for 15 years, said Manning brought a rare innovative twist to the contract negotiations.

"He brought this new dynamic to the table," Bozzotto said. "I'd love to say it was me, that I was the new dynamic. And maybe that's because he comes from a different background. Evidently, he didn't have all the baggage all the previous labor relations people had at Harvard."

The dining services contract is only the latest in a string of bargaining successes for Manning. While Harvard has historically been rife with labor strife, Manning has, in the first round of new contracts since his arrival at Harvard, managed to ink deals with the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) and the police union without a strike. Both of those unions had proved contentious in negotiating their previous contracts