I hope this email finds you safe and healthy. My name is Ege Yumusak and I’m a Ph.D. student and teaching fellow in Philosophy and on the bargaining committee. I logged into our first virtual negotiation session with the university administration yesterday (also the first session since Harvard moved operations online due to COVID-19).
We received a singular counter proposal, on Workload, from the administration. Our team presented counter-proposals on compensation, health care, paid leaves, union access and rights, and management rights. We hoped to reach an agreement on Workload, where we are very close. The administration declined to engage in substantive discussions on any issues.
Obviously a lot has changed in our world since the last bargaining session. Now, more than ever, student workers need comprehensive and affordable healthcare, as well as paid family and medical leave. Two weeks ago, we were glad to see that following our union’s advocacy, the university agreed to waive the limits on specialist and mental health visits through July 31. However, today the administration declined to immediately extend this improved health coverage past that date—even though the social and health effects of this pandemic will be felt well beyond this summer. This extension will be re-evaluated in July. In addition, the administration once again refused to agree to provide any paid family or medical leave to student workers, characterizing 4 weeks of leave for a student worker’s serious medical condition or to care for a sick family member as too generous.
Most importantly, the administration said they need to re-evaluate the University’s finances in the next 3-4 weeks and suspend all bargaining in the meantime.
Not only do student workers have urgent needs in the midst of a crisis, but there are several articles on the table that are not about financial needs, such as critical protections against harassment and discrimination. The administration says that when there is more clarity about their finances, they will resume bargaining.
Disregard for too many workers across campus amidst the pandemic
As the bargaining team, we are truly disappointed at the disregard the University administration is displaying for too many workers, but we are collecting the receipts. If you recall, since the beginning of the pandemic, the University has:
- Laid off workers across campus and so far has refused to extend its 30-days-of-pay policy to subcontracted workers.,
- Put custodians to work without adequate safety protections (some workers are already reporting symptoms of COVID-19),
- Not committed to pay guarantees for undergraduate workers and for students who are appointed to (and have already done work for) the Harvard Summer School programs,
- And now, refused to negotiate for 3–4 weeks with student workers.
Take the COVID-19 impact survey to report any financial insecurities or health risks you’re facing, or to let us know if you are experiencing challenges relating to childcare, work space, or research and teaching work.
You can also see our full list of demands to familiarize yourself with issues that the Harvard community is facing due to COVID-19. And, I invite you to sign this petition calling on Harvard to pay all workers on campus at least through the remainder of the spring semester.
As we evaluate what the current circumstances mean for bargaining and organizing, please be in touch by attending a General Meeting, taking the Priorities Survey, or simply reaching out to any of your union contacts including responding to this email directly.
The next General Meeting is on Friday (tomorrow) 2-3:30 PM over Zoom.
You can continue to access the Bargaining Priorities Survey here.
I know that uncertainty about contract negotiations, and what it means for our personal financial situation next year, are the last thing any of us needs right now. As always, if you need assistance, or if you have questions about the contract, please don’t hesitate to email us at hgsu.general@gmail.com.
