Finally, in August of 1993, theUniversity-represented by then Vice President andGeneral Counsel Margaret H. Marshall-released aninternal probe of the discrimination claims.
The report concluded, "Discrimination...doesnot exist within the Harvard University guardservice."
However, Marshall's investigation also saidthat "inadequate Guard Service managementresponse...[resulted] in the growth of anadversarial atmosphere of mutual mistrust."
The report also hinted at an uncertain futurefor the troubled guard corps: "If the GuardService is to be retained [instead of beingoutsourced], it should be assured of adequatefinancial resources to avoid the existingmanagement difficulties."
But the damage was done. The guard force nowhad a reputation for internal divisiveness.
New Problems, No Contract
The union's most recent troubles began whencontract negotiations between the University andseveral of its clerical unions heated up in thesummer of 1995.
Like the Harvard Union of Clerical andTechnical Workers, the security guards "local" wasa part of the Service Employees InternationalUnion (SEIU).
Federal law prohibits security guard unionsthat are part of a larger labor union from beingcertified to negotiate on their own.
Blocking the path of informal negotiations,according to McCombe, was the University's "cozy"relationship with the SEIU, which he said makes itdifficult for each "daughter" union underneath theSEIU umbrella to negotiate on its own.
Guards also feared for their wallets as anotherHarvard union, the custodial workers, had theirwages frozen for 20 months and vacation timedecreased in a 1996 contract with the University.
"We were wary, to say the least," a guard said.
So, on Nov. 27, 1996, with contractnegotiations progressing slowly, a majority ofguards voted to form a separate union. Harvardparking monitors and Fogg Art Museum guards alsojoined the new union.
Since McCombe had led the fight against theSEIU as union. representative, or "steward," hewas a natural choice to lead the new union.
"Somebody had to take the lead," McCombe says.
Read more in News
Two Influential Activists Speak to Harvard African Students AssociationRecommended Articles
-
Security Guards, University Continue Contract DisputeIn the latest salvo in an ongoing dispute between Harvard's security guards and the University, guards this week charge that
-
Students Salute Departing GuardOn Dan Gibbons's last day as a Harvard security guard, the Adams House students he protected for 11 years gave
-
Harvard's Guards Phasing OutLast year, you could have asked any Harvard security guard about their job security and probably would have gotten the
-
New, Outsourced Security Guards Criticized by Some HUPD OfficersWalking into the foyer of Claverly Hall one recent evening, students were startled to find the Security Systems Incorporated (SSI)
-
SSI Guard Accused of Assaulting StudentErrol Allen, one of Harvard's out-sourced security guards, has been accused of assault by one of the students he was
-
Who Watches the Watchers?It was never a question of whether, but always a question of when. For the University, hiring a private company
