The Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) will vote today on an extension of its contract with the University.

The current HUCTW contract was adopted in June 1995, the same year Timothy R. Manning, Harvard's former director of employee relations, joined the University.

The contract extension, which HUCTW President Domene M. Williams predicts "will be overwhelmingly ratified," includes salary increases averaging 4.5 percent per year with extra benefits for long-time employees.

This year's contract negotiation was precipitated by Manning's departure.

Manning's work at Harvard during his first year led to marked progress in the school's contract negotiations. Since then HUCTW has developed a strong relationship with him.

Since a contract negotiation normally lasts about a year, one would have begun this summer for HUCTW's current contract, which was set to expire in June 1999.

But with Manning's departure imminent, HUCTW officials worried the University would not have a permanent employee prepared to begin negotiations this summer.

The leadership of HUCTW, a union of more than 3,500 Harvard employees, leapt at the opportunity to extend its current contract rather than attempt a full renegotiation.

"The fact that the University would not have someone in the central administration to negotiate with us precipitated this negotiation," Williams said.

"We took the opportunity to get some gains in areas we had been working on," she said.

"This came up unexpectedly for us," said Bill Jaeger, HUCTW director. "It was an opportunity to seize a moment when the University was willing to talk about some issues that haven't been resolved before."

Instead of the normal three-year contract, the Union negotiated for a two-year extension.

Under the contract extension, workers will alsoreceive extra paid vacation days around Christmasand New Year's, giving them a full week ofvacation. Previously, workers had to choosebetween coming in to an empty office between thetwo holidays or using precious summer vacationdays.

Williams called the four weeks of paidpaternity and adoptive parent leave "somethingwe're really proud of."

"Not many employers give that," Williams added.

"The new leave program basically says thatalong with birth mothers, new fathers and adoptiveparents need time to adjust to the changes intheir lives," Jaeger said. "It's an unusuallyforward-looking thing."