My name is Brandon Mancilla and I am a G4 in the History department, the President of your union and a member of our bargaining committee.
I am happy to announce that the voting period on your bargaining goals has concluded and you have approved them by a 99.8% margin. Below are the 6 major goals in no particular order. We will present these bargaining goals to the University at our next bargaining session. You can read more details on the goals on our website here.
- Equity and Justice: stronger protections against identity- and power-based discrimination and harassment, and guarantees of no retaliation for reporting;
- Compensation: annual pay increases and fair wages for all student workers;
- International Student Worker Protections: timely and complete payment regardless of payroll status, improved employment status security;
- Healthcare: expanded mental health coverage and access, vision and dental insurance at no cost to SWs;
- Working Conditions: fully paid medical and family leave for all workers; and
- Union Shop: union security through the unit-wide sharing of costs that reflects equal contribution for equal representation.
On Thursday, our bargaining committee (BC) met with the Harvard administration’s team for the first time this semester to begin negotiations on a second collective bargaining agreement. Our first contract, which we ratified last year, expires on June 30, 2021.
At our first bargaining session, we discussed:
- Future Bargaining Dates
- Two Union proposals (we have not received counter proposals from Harvard yet):
- Designating the Home as a Workplace (a revision of current Article 15)
- Intellectual Property Grievances (a revision of current Article 9)
- Open bargaining sessions where members can observe bargaining first-hand
Bargaining Dates
Given the impending contract expiration date, we were determined to initiate bargaining discussions early this semester in order to reach an agreement that would not only extend, but improve on the rights, benefits, and protections won in that first contract as we head into the summer and a potentially in-person or hybrid fall semester. The administration also committed to meeting two more times in the next three weeks. This is a significant change from the pace of bargaining for our first contract, which reflects the growth of our power and reputation as a union!
The Home as a Workplace
The pandemic dramatically altered working conditions and expectations for all of us. Though there is promising news with the vaccine and the University plans on having more in-person activity in the next academic year, we believe it is essential to solidify rights, protections, and expectations for remote work. Going forward, remote work is not going away, and should not go away. The work our community has put in to create accessible remote options for work must be maintained and involve greater protections from now on. University administrators and faculty have learned that there is a lot of work that does not need to be done in person. Moreover, student workers already do a significant amount of their work from home. Our contract should reflect these changes. Therefore, we are proposing that the university designate the home as a workplace to cover instances of remote work. This proposal includes the provision of any necessary materials and resources such as WiFi, ergonomics, and other expenses for jobs that are classified for remote settings.
Open Bargaining
We want YOU to JOIN US at the bargaining table!
Going forward, we want all student workers to be able to attend our bargaining sessions. When workers show up to support their BC, the administration notices how much support there is for union proposals. These are proposals coming directly from input you’ve provided in your bargaining surveys. Sometimes administrators need that reminder through a show of power. If you are interested in attending future bargaining sessions and learning more about participating in the process, keep an eye out for future emails where we will send you details for the topics of the next session and a zoom link for you to be able to sit with us and observe negotiations.
If you have any further questions, you can reply to this email. I also invite you to the next Organizing Committee meeting this Monday, March 22nd at 7pm ET to hear a more detailed discussion on bargaining and what we can all do in our labs, programs, and departments to organize for a strong contract. RSVP here.
Sincerely,
Brandon Mancilla
President of HGSU-UAW L.5118
PhD Candidate, History
