Contract Summary

Outline

On June 15, 2020, the HGSU-UAW Bargaining Committee reached a complete tentative agreement on our first contract with the University. On June 30, the Bargaining Committee announced the history-making victory of ratifying our first contract. Close to 2,100 student workers cast a ballot, and 2,026 (96.9%) voted to ratify.

While there are aspects of this contract that fell short of our goals, this first contract allowed us to begin implementing the major victories that we have won in this agreement and build towards more victories in our next contract, which our newly-elected Bargaining Committee is now bargaining with Harvard.

Please click on the article title to view the language of the article.

Compensation

2.8% raises in one of the worst economic crises in recent history, at a time when non-union faculty and staff are experiencing wage freezes, and facing furloughs and layoffs (Harvard previously announced these right after we agreed in negotiations).
A new minimum hourly wage of $16 per hour for all student workers (and $17 per hour for hourly instructional roles). This will result in a 25% raise for hundreds of student workers who were making Massachusetts minimum wage.
Salaried teaching assistants in professional schools (other than HSPH) who are currently underpaid will have their pay raised to at least the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences rate ($4,920 or $5,520 per section per semester, depending on year and program).

Health Benefits

New funds to help offset the costs of health care for salaried student workers:
- $325,000 for dependent coverage
- $125,000 for dental expenses
- $125,000 for co-pays and other out-of-pocket costs under the health plan

Non-discrimination and Harassment

Prohibits many forms of harassment and discrimination that occur in the workplace such as racial, gender and disability discrimination, as well as power-based harassment, commonly known as bullying, establishing a new policy at Harvard.
The right for a union representative to be present and assist the student worker in any and all stages of discrimination or harassment complaints, regardless of the method of reporting. Every student worker who brings a discrimination or harassment complaint will be informed of this right with a notice given to them at University offices.
In addition to assisting individual student workers, the right to union representation will also enable us to identify patterns of discrimination or harassment and take collective action to fight back if the university does not address the complaint or slows down the process.
Guaranteed interim measures for all forms of harassment and discrimination complaints. This protection will ensure that student workers have access to a safe and nondiscriminatory work environment while the university is handling a discrimination or harassment complaint, regardless of the duration of the investigation. Interim measures can include a different work schedule, a no-contact order, changing work locations, and more.
We also secured guaranteed protections against retaliation for reporting discrimination and harassment.
Complaints of identity-based discrimination may not be arbitrated under the contract grievance article, but may be submitted to an internal appeals panel. While this is a start, it is insufficient beyond this one-year settlement in the context of the pandemic (see The Fight is Not Over section below).
The university also committed to establishing new procedures and offices to address race-based discrimination and power-based harassment with the input of students and union representatives (similar to existing offices for Title IX complaints). A working group will be assembled to accomplish this if the contract is ratified within 3 months of ratification.
Student workers now have a right to grievance and arbitration in the case of discrimination on the basis of union activity. This means that student workers can organize, become union stewards, go on strike, and generally do union activities without being singled out, and these protections are enforceable under the contract.

Workplace Rights

Health and Safety

Protects student workers from having to work in unsafe environments, on campus and in work areas outside of the Harvard University campuses.
Ensures that student workers will have access to needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Enhances access to accommodations for student workers with disabilities.
Protects student workers against retaliation for reporting unsafe working conditions.
Student workers will be able to request workstation evaluations for exposing student workers to health related problems (including ergonomic concerns).

Workspace and Materials

Provides guaranteed access to the workspace and materials needed for work, including access to printing and software and a personal (individual or shared) desk. Materials purchased by the student worker with pre-approval will be reimbursed.
Mandates 30-day notice before the university moves a student’s work location.
Ensures departments provide access to private space to advise students.

Workload

Provides protections from workload abuse, prohibiting the university from assigning work that exceeds an average of 20 hours per week, as well as a process to deal with violations. It also clarifies that mandatory work meetings are included as part of workload.
Ensures that workload must align with levels of compensation.

Academic Retaliation

The university recognizes that student workers may face academic retaliation for exercising their rights under the contract, university policies, and state and federal law.
Academic retaliation is prohibited, but individual complaints may not be grieved. Instead, each school must set up its own internal policies for complaints of academic retaliation.
Student workers will be able to have union representation at all steps of these processes.

Job Posting

Student workers outside their guaranteed teaching years, in masters programs, or at the professional schools may have a hard time knowing where to find good on-campus teaching and research jobs. Too often, jobs are only shared within certain supervisors’ personal networks, thus excluding qualified applicants outside these networks. To address this problem, our tentative agreement ensures that within one year of ratification, the university will establish a central job posting website for open positions. The university stated a shared interest to get this website up as soon as feasible.
To foster increased transparency, job postings on this central website will include the expected pay rate/range, required duties and expected work schedule, and required and preferred qualifications.

Employment Records

Employment records—such as Q scores and other performance evaluations—often play an important role in determining student workers’ long-term job prospects. So, it is important for student workers to be able to ensure that their records are fair, accurate, and non-discriminatory.
Each student worker will have the right to access their records and request the removal of any factually incorrect or inappropriate material from these records. The university must remove factually incorrect material from a student worker’s employment record within seven business days of the student worker’s request.
If a student worker has their disciplinary charges dismissed, that discipline will be removed from the employment record.

Immigrant and International Student Worker Rights and Tax Assistance

If a student worker is unable to return to the US (for instance, because of travel restrictions or visa issues), the university will work to provide continued employment and pay to the student worker while they are abroad.
If a student worker falls out of immigration status, the university will do what it can to rehire the student worker as soon as the student worker regains status.
Salaried student workers will have five paid days of leave per year to attend their or their families’ visa/immigration proceedings, and/or attend to other related matters. Hourly student workers will have five unpaid days of leave per year for these purposes. This provision will set a new precedent for student worker unions and for unions on Harvard’s campus.
The university will bring immigration attorneys to campus at least once per semester to discuss post-grad immigration issues such as H-visas and green cards.
Establishes a University-wide Working Group—with HGSU-UAW representatives—to develop recommendations to improve English as a Second Language (ESL) and English Language Program (ELP) resources at Harvard.
The university will continue to provide general advice on visa issues as well as web-based tax software for international students.

Grievance and Arbitration

A grievance procedure that will provide an accessible, fair, and effective mechanism for enforcing the rights we have secured under our tentative agreement—such as workload protections, health and safety guarantees, pay rates, and discrimination on the basis of union activity. Under the grievance procedure, if a student worker (or group of student workers) believes that their rights have been violated, they will have access to a union advocate who will assist them at every step of the grievance process and enforceable timelines for a response from administrators.
If the student worker and university do not resolve the grievance, then the union can bring the claim to a neutral, third-party arbitrator, who is selected and paid for jointly by the union and the university. The arbitrator would then issue a final and binding award.
As is true for the vast majority of union contracts, since the grievance and arbitration procedure will provide an effective mechanism to resolve disputes, we have agreed not to strike for the duration of the contract. However, once the contract expires on June 30, 2021, student workers could go on strike if we feel that we must do so in order to secure a stronger second contract.

Discipline and Discharge

Student workers cannot be disciplined or fired without just cause—i.e., without a good reason, a proper investigation, and adequate warnings. Without our contract, student workers at Harvard, like most non-union workers across the US, could be fired for any reason or no reason at all.
Ensures that prior to being disciplined or discharged, the student worker will be notified in advance and given an opportunity to defend themself. The student worker will also have access to a union representative throughout the disciplinary process.
Student workers who believe they have been unfairly disciplined or discharged can file an expedited grievance and have union representation throughout the grievance process.

Intellectual Property and Scholarly and Research Misconduct

Protects student workers from retaliation for asserting their intellectual property rights or reporting violations of the University’s Intellectual Property policies.
If a student worker reports violations of the university’s policies on Intellectual Property and Misconduct, they will have the right to union representation throughout the process, which means student workers will not need to go through the process alone.
Requires clear, written policies around intellectual property rights to be distributed in all schools, increasing transparency.

Appointment Letter

Too often, student workers start their jobs without a written record of how many hours per week they are supposed to work, how much they are supposed to get paid, and other key details. This lack of a written appointment letter makes it hard for student workers to enforce their workplace rights.
To address this problem, every student worker will receive an employment appointment letter. This letter will include the student worker’s job title, pay rate, a description of required duties (i.e., research tasks, grading, leading sections, etc.) and expected work schedule, including required meetings and training. For teaching appointments, letters will also include details regarding the number of students for which a student worker will be responsible.

Appointment Security

For salaried teaching fellows: For students not in their guaranteed offer period (i.e., masters, professional, and upper-year PhD students), if a course or section is cancelled after a student accepts a teaching appointment, the student will receive an alternate course or section to teach. If such reassignment is not possible, the TF will be paid at least 20% of the pay that they would have received had the course or section not been canceled. (While the Gen Ed program already provides some compensation for TFs who have their sections cancelled, our contract would extend this practice to all courses across the university.)
For salaried research assistants: If a research assistant loses their position for a reason outside their control (such as the departure of a faculty member), the university will work to find a suitable alternative position for the student research assistant.

Financial Security and Support

Family Friendly Policies and Benefits

Salaried student workers will have access to child care subsidies for the first time. A new $350,000 fund will help offset the cost of child care for salaried student worker parents.
A 3.1% increase to PAFS (Parental Accommodation and Financial Support), the parental leave program for GSAS students.

Holidays, Personal Days, and Vacation

Establishes 11 ½ official holidays for all student workers throughout the academic year, in addition to the week of winter recess. Student workers cannot be required to work on holidays or during recess unless necessary, in which case they are entitled to take an equivalent number of alternate days off.
Salaried student workers also get 2–3 paid personal days per year (depending on the position) and salaried research assistants with a twelve-month appointment get two weeks of paid vacation (prorated for 10-month appointments).

Training

Student workers will receive the training they need to do their jobs. Hourly student workers will be paid for all hours spent in training; for salaried student workers, training will count as part of the student worker’s workload (i.e. the student worker will not need to work “overtime” to attend trainings).
The university must also consider offering any training proposed by student workers.

Leaves

Sick days for all student workers, in line with state law minimums (currently five days), even though that law excludes student workers. Sick leave will be paid for salaried student workers and unpaid for hourly student workers.
Twelve weeks of unpaid family and medical leave from work, without requiring an academic leave. Positions and benefits are protected when they take these leaves. So long as a student worker maintains student status, they will no longer face the threat of losing their health insurance by going on leave.
Paid bereavement leave of at least 3 days for salaried student workers.

Parking and Transit

- Given rising housing costs near Harvard’s campus, student workers are increasingly living some distance away. Student workers can select one of the following benefits to help with their cost of getting to campus:
- Biking: Student workers will now have access to the same biking benefits as full-time staff and postdocs. Under this program, student workers will receive up to $360/year in reimbursements for bicycle purchase, improvement, repair, and storage.
- Driving/Parking: Student workers who drive to campus will have access to on-campus parking on the same basis as other university staff.
- Public Transit: Student workers in all schools will have access to discounted MBTA passes via the MBTA Semester Pass Program.

Emergency Grant

Student workers can access a $25K fund to help cope with emergencies.

Employee Assistance Program

Salaried student workers can for the first time access the Employee Assistance Program, a benefit offered to other Harvard employees.

Travel

Guarantees prepayment of work-related travel expenses if possible and timely reimbursement if prepayment is not possible, as well as covering registration fees in advance of work-related travel.

Housing Side Letter

Provides for monthly payment of rent in Harvard housing for student workers without incurring fees.

Union Fundamentals

Recognition

A contractual basis for the union’s status as bargaining representative for the bargaining unit, which is defined as all students enrolled in a degree program and employed to provide instructional services (undergraduate and graduate) and graduate students employed as research assistants regardless of funding sources.

Union Security

(How we fund our union, see our dues checkoff language)

- To maintain our local union, pay for the processing of grievances, and enforce the contract, our union will collect dues from members equal to 1.44% of pay covered by this contract.
- Student workers may decide whether to join the union, free from influence by the university.
- Workers can sign a form to have their dues automatically deducted from their paycheck, without having to write a separate check every month.

Management Rights

Specifies that issues not covered elsewhere in the agreement are subject to administration decisions.

Union Access and Rights

(Our union’s rights and ability to represent all student workers, organize, and strengthen our membership)

- The university would provide our union with a weekly list of members, helping us effectively communicate and work with all members and ensure that the contract is being followed by the administration.
- Reserved time alongside orientations at which we can talk with new student workers about our contract and what our union does, and sign up new members.
- Release time for up to 10 union representatives to investigate, present and process grievances.

Titles and Classifications

- Brings clarity to the various positions student workers hold and clarifies some of the expectations of our work.
- Connects titles and pay classifications based on the nature of the student worker’s duties to improve transparency around pay rates and bring more equity for student workers.

Union Management Committee

This committee, composed of an equal number of HGSU and administration representatives, will maintain an ongoing dialogue to ensure our contract is properly administered between contract negotiations.

Severability

Protects our contract so that, in the event that any part of the contract was made invalid by any change in the law, the university will bargain with the union over that provision and the remainder of the contract remains in effect.

The Fight is Not Over…

The bargaining committee settled this tentative agreement with our eyes towards enduring the current pandemic, ensuring benefits we have already secured as a result of our fight, and gearing up for a fight next year to win on our remaining outstanding issues. These likely include:

- Access to the full grievance procedure and neutral arbitration for all cases of discrimination and harassment
- Guaranteed premium coverage for workers who do not currently have Harvard-provided insurance, and permanently lifting the mental health and specialist visit caps
- Ensuring that hourly student workers have the same access to benefits as salaried student workers
- Pay certainty in future years through a long-term contract with guaranteed increases in total compensation
- Removing pay discrepancies between teaching positions in the School of Public Health and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- Financial security for student workers with children by increasing the subsidies for child care and dependent insurance and winning paid parental leave
- A union shop so that our union has the resources we need to represent all student workers and continue to build power to secure improved pay, benefits, and rights
- And other issues that arise as we implement this agreement.

This tentative agreement is for a term of one year, so the next (and newly elected) bargaining committee will start bargaining with the administration for our second contract less than a year from now. This means that our union will be fighting to secure the rights and protections listed above—among others—very soon.