HUCTW Elects First Board

In an election short on candidates but not on participation, the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) chose its first executive board on Thursday.

HUCTW officials said yesterday that union members had elected Donene M. Williams president, Cory Paulsen vice president, Randall E. Kromm recording secretary and Gloria Buffonge secretary-treasurer.

An estimated 60 to 70 percent of HUCTW's 2300 members cast votes in the largely uncontested election, HUCTW coordinator Marie C. Manna said.

"I think we had a pretty good turnout," Williams said, adding that she was glad to see members "taking an active role" in the union.

"I'm very glad to have gotten a vote of confidence," she said.

Both Williams and Kromm, who will now begin three-year terms on the executive board, worked extensively for the transition team which negotiated the union's first contract.

"We worked very hard to get what I think is a spectacular contract," Williams said.

Williams said one of HUCTW's top goals for the coming months is to ensure that the final contract version reflects the substance of the recent negotiations.

Kromm also cited finalizing the contract as his main short-term responsibility.

He said his role was to "push for changes that in some ways have been waiting a long time to happen. There has to be people, not just words on a page."

For the time being, Manna said last week's election marked "the culmination of all the organization we did to establish a union."

HUCTW held elections for several other positions last week, and most of them were also uncontested, said Manna. But Kromm said this was only because union workers wanted to preserve unity.

"We're so used to working as a team," he said. "People didn't want to run against each other."