After two consecutive days of bargaining, we are frustrated by how little we have to report. More than a year since our certification, we have a total of four tentative agreements for our entire contract (which is more than 40 total proposals).
We bargained for 7+ hours this week and we still have not heard back from the administration on many of our proposals, for example:
- Nondiscrimination and Harassment (last response Feb 4)
- Workspace and Materials (last response Mar 4)
- Health and Safety (last response on Mar 15)
- Travel (last response on Feb 15)
The administration reaffirmed they do not want protections from harassment and discrimination to be protected by a union grievance procedure (which would give us the protection of a decision-maker not being employed by Harvard).
A student worker parent came to the bargaining session to testify about the hardship they have to endure. This SW, living with their partner and child, can only afford a one bedroom apartment with a leaky roof and and other safety hazards.
As they said at the bargaining table, the numbers just don’t add up. With childcare costs $2000/month, dependent insurance at $300/month, rent upwards of $2000 for a one-bedroom apartment, how can student parents afford to work on this campus? The SW concluded by stating:
“If Harvard chooses to accept people from more humble backgrounds, who can’t rely on family support, it is imperative that you do so wholeheartedly and realistically—I ask you to imagine the situations that your decisions create for the people whose lives they affect.”
The administration did not provide any new economic proposals this week, even though we had two sessions. They have so far refused to agree to better pay raises, dental insurance, and real support of student workers with families. However, we pushed them to see the reality of the financial hardships student workers on this campus face.
Most frustratingly, the administration has offered only THREE DATES for bargaining over the summer (one each in June, July, and August). This shows how little the administrators care about getting our contract done in a reasonable amount of time. Now, more than a year into this process, it’s clear the administration is not listening.
We came together many times this year: a majority of us signed a petition calling on the admins to move faster in negotiations, we rallied calling for protections from harassment and discrimination, hundreds of us worked-in to show our support for our union, and we held an all-day march and sit-in to close out the semester. We need to get louder if we want a contract NOW!
Our next bargaining session is on May 23rd, and we will be in touch as we proceed.
