PHILADELPHIA. Pa.--One hundred maintenance workers at the University of Pennsylvania this week signed a petition in support of a lawsuit charging the university with racial discrimination.

Six maintenance workers filed the discrimination suit earlier this year, but no action has been taken in the courts. Maintenance employees said they will send the petition to the U.S. Department of Labor, which is investigating the suit.

A spokeman for the university, which has also begun an official investigation of the charges said this week. "It appears at the present time the gist of the complaint is that university officials responsible for hiring and promoting are not following university policy and as a result many employees, especially minorities, are not being treated the way they are entitled."