My name is Lee Kennedy-Shaffer and I’m a 4th-year student and research assistant in biostatistics and a member of the bargaining committee. I facilitated Friday’s mediated bargaining session with the university. The university has refused to meet again before March 25 and has not returned our requests for setting dates in April. We are continuing to press the administration in negotiations. However, it is becoming clearer that, unless they make substantial moves on key issues in the near future, we’ll find ourselves at a similar standstill as we were at last semester. Time is running out to reach an agreement. We have assembled a working group to assess safety at our work-in next week (You can RSVP here to get updates), but there are two actions I’m asking you to participate in:
#1. Tell Harvard to Stop Hiding Behind Trump and Sign a Fair Contract!
Last week, we told you about how the Harvard administration is hiding behind Trump. Harvard knows that the Trump National Labor Relations Board will not enforce student workers’ legal rights, so they’re bargaining in bad faith and engaging in illegal tactics to prevent us from securing a fair contract, such as walking back on previously agreed-upon language.
We launched a new website explaining how Harvard has failed to bargain in good faith. Go to harvardhidesbehindtrump.com to take action and share this website widely.
#2 Take the survey: what are your bargaining priorities?
With the halfway point of the semester approaching, we’re once again at a critical moment for our campaign. Back in the summer of 2018, student workers took a survey about bargaining priorities; and in September 2018, the full union membership voted to approve bargaining goals. Over the past year and a half, we on the bargaining committee have made a number of compromises to reach an agreement. Please take this survey to share your priorities as we work to close this contract. Striking is a last resort, but once again, the administration is moving to block all the paths forward. We need to know what you think we need to do to win a first contract.
Where are we after Friday?
- Tentative agreements reached on Employment Appointment Letter and Employment Appointment Security: During today’s session, we reached two new tentative agreements: on Employment Appointment Letter and Employment Appointment Security.
The tentative agreement on Employment Appointment Letter will guarantee that every student worker receives an appointment letter for each job they are appointed to. These letters will clearly lay out the expectations, requirements, and pay associated with each position.
The tentative agreement on Employment Appointment Security will guarantee that teaching fellows who are not in their guaranteed funding years (such as upper-year PhD students and teaching fellows at the professional schools) will receive new positions if their section is cancelled or, if no new position is available, will receive at least 20% of the total semester’s compensation. Research assistants who suddenly lose their appointment will also receive assistance in finding a new position. - Substantive but inconclusive conversations on childcare, family-friendly benefits, and workload: We also had substantive conversations about child care and family friendly benefits and workload. We are working hard to close issues and have had some success working through core disagreements.
- Nonproductive counters from the University on compensation, healthcare, and union access: The administration offered minimal increases in future raises (0.1%) and health care funds ($5.56 per worker per fund), but did not address the serious structural problems with their proposals, which don’t ensure pay stability for teachers and carve hourly workers out of any health benefits.
- No conversations on protections against discrimination and harassment and union security: Once again, the administration refused to discuss meaningful protections against discrimination and harassment. The administration also continues to insist on a so-called “right-to-work” contract that threatens the ability of our union to properly represent our members.
You can find our updated proposals here and you can reach out any time to chat with us.
