Employment policies committee seeks input

September 20, 2001 3 min read

Dear Members of the Harvard Community,

The Harvard Committee on Employment and Contracting Policies (HCECP) seeks to hear your views and to provide you with information on the work of the committee.

The HCECP is a new University-wide committee that was formed in May to examine issues relating to the economic welfare and opportunities of lower-paid employees at Harvard, both those employed directly by the University and those employed by companies that provide on-campus services to the University. The committee is composed of 20 members including 11 faculty members, five Harvard staff members (three unionized employees and two administrative and professional staff), and four student members (two undergraduates and two graduate/professional students).

The HCECP has a broad mandate to consider and present recommendations to the president of the University regarding: (1) the principles and policies to guide the University’s employment practices related to the compensation and opportunities available to lower-paid members of Harvard’s work force, and (2) guidelines for the “outsourcing” or “contracting out” of services performed at the University. The committee is also specifically charged with considering the desirability and feasibility of a uniform minimum wage floor for workers at Harvard. The committee is expected to consider the full range of views from the Harvard community on these issues.

The committee will meet regularly and deliberate on these issues during the fall 2001 academic term. The committee is currently gathering a wide range of factual background data to support these deliberations including information on wages, benefits, other terms and conditions of employment, and contracting policies at Harvard and other comparable employers. A report containing the committee’s findings and recommendations will be presented to President Lawrence H. Summers by Dec. 19.

The views and perspectives of members of the University community are an essential input into the committee’s deliberations. We actively seek to hear all voices and viewpoints within the University community on these issues, including the views of interested faculty, staff, students, and alumni. We encourage you to provide us with your views and comments (hcecp@harvard.edu or Harvard Committee on Employment and Contracting Policies, 25 Shattuck St., Gordon Hall 206, Boston, MA 02115). Our Web site (http://www.hcecp.harvard.edu) provides additional information and we invite you to consult it regularly. The committee’s report will be posted to our Web site when available. The HCECP will be conducting a public forum on Monday, Oct. 22, 6-8 p.m. at the Kennedy School of Government’s ARCO Forum. All members of the Harvard community – faculty, staff, students, and alumni – are invited to attend. Our goal is to create a fully inclusive process.

We look forward to hearing from you.

– Harvard Committee on Employment and Contracting Policies