We had an exciting first day of bargaining with Harvard. Early this morning we received confirmation that, with more than 1500 participating as of polls closing last night, student workers voted by a 90% margin to endorse the HGSU-UAW bargaining goals! At lunchtime, we rallied with HGSU and community supporters for a strong contract. And this afternoon, bolstered by the support of student workers across the university, the bargaining committee sat down for our first bargaining session with the university administration.
After delivering our bargaining goals, we presented Harvard with 21 proposals for contract articles on crucial issues impacting student workers across the University. The bulk of our first round of proposals focused on establishing student workers’ rights — from strengthening protections against discrimination and harassment to increasing support for international students to securing a neutral third-party grievance procedure.
During negotiations, the administration asked us why we, the student workers union, are advocating for inclusion and equity. They pointed out — correctly! — that issues of discrimination and harassment extend beyond student workers. We hope that Harvard will extend the high standards that we establish in our contract to all workers and students on campus.
And we told them what student workers have long known to be true: that discrimination, sexual harassment, and assault hugely impact all of our ability to study and work with dignity; to make progress towards our degrees; and to thrive here as full human beings.
The administration has not agreed to meet with us again until November — but until then, we hope that you will get involved with union committees working on racial and gender justice issues. You can contact our Civil and Human Rights Committee at hgsu.chrc@gmail.com and our #TimesUp committee at harvardtimesup@gmail.com. We need your support.
