HDS union steward Edward Childs said the New Haven rally boosted morale by demonstrating the depth of union solidarity.

Yale employees have rallied at Harvard previously, and they will travel to Cambridge again if needed, said Yale union steward Robert Smith.

"Just give the word," Smith said. "We've gone other places. We just get the buses and go. That's what this is all about."

In a year marked by feverish levels of activism, undergraduates have marched with union employees several times.

"When it's on campus and you know the people, students will get involved," said Matthew L. Mayers '97, a member of several student activist groups.

Democratic politicans have focused on labor issues in seeking to regain both branches of Congress this November.

And as Harvard nears its June 6 commencement without a contract for HDS employees, union members plan to portray Harvard as a $7 billion institution which is unsympathetic to common laborers, Childs said.

Workers plan to distribute informational leaflets at graduation, Childs said. Protests after June 19 would be more heated, he said.

"Last time [HDS workers went on strike], we seized Holyoke Center, and we won the strike," Childs said. "We might have to look at something dramatic again.