Pickets to Confront Harvard-Yale Fans

The six-week strike that has closed Yale's dining halls and idled its service and maintenance workers will present a sticky situation for fans at this Saturday's Harvard-Yale football contest--the prospect of crossing picket lines to gain access to "The Game."

Vincent J. Sirabella, business manager for striking Local 35 dining hall and custodial employees, said yesterday the union plans to "double or triple" the number of strikers it will place on picket lines outside the gates of New Haven's Yale Bowl Saturday. He said "every gate will be covered."

Leaflets

While the strikers will not attempt to physically block the entrances to the stadium area, Sirabella said they will hand out informational leaflets and request that spectators not cross the picket lines.

Robert Blecker, a spokesman for the Yale Student Strike Support Committee, said yesterday that many students and faculty members plan to join the strikers at Saturday's game.

In addition, Blecker said, meetings will be held later this week by the graduate, professional school, faculty and undergraduate groups which comprise the so-called "Coalition for a Just Settlement" to plan further pro-strike activities in conjunction with the Harvard-Yale game.

Full House

Donald M. Stevens, director of employee relations at Yale, said yesterday pickets around the stadium have not caused problems for Yale home games so far this year, adding that "we're expecting a full house" for this Saturday's game.

"Attendance just hasn't suffered," he said.

Sirabella disagreed, saying that "attendance is definitely down" at Yale games, and that New Haven townspeople "have stopped coming."

"We can't prevent people from going to the game," Blecker said. "But if people feel there is a political principle involved in forcing a place to close in order to bring about negotiations, then they shouldn't come."

The Yale administration has refused throughout the walkout to submit the dispute to binding, third-party arbitration, and contract negotiations have been suspened indefinitely.