Harvard Grad Union Agrees To Bargain Without Ground Rules

Harvard’s graduate student union agreed to negotiate its third contract with the University without ground rules on Friday, after the two sides were unable to agree on policies for bargaining observation.

Without formal policies, the Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Auto Workers has not ruled out bringing rank-and-file members to sessions. But the decision to forgo basic bargaining policies also sets the stage for an even more contentious set of negotiations than for the union’s two previous contracts, which were both negotiated with ground rules and both resulted in a strike.

“We are planning on having our bargaining team present at the sessions,” bargaining committee member Alexis R. Miranda said. “Anything else beyond that, we’re not sure at this point.”

A University spokesperson did not comment on how negotiators would respond to observers in the future without a resolution on the demand for “open bargaining,” or rules that allow union members that are not on the bargaining committee to spectate. Harvard representatives have maintained that bargaining should be conducted in closed sessions since talks began last month.

Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a March 5 statement that “the University thinks it is more productive to engage in good-faith discussions and negotiations with HGSU-UAW’s bargaining team at the bargaining table rather than through the media.”

For Harvard’s powerful 6,000 person graduate union, agreeing to closed sessions itself would require a membership-wide vote — a new bylaw added last summer.

After the sides reached an impasse Friday afternoon, several dozen union members picketed outside the entrance to Harvard’s Office of Labor and Employee Relations, where negotiations took place.

Rallygoers held signs calling for opening bargaining and chanted for the University to allow members to witness bargaining sessions. Union president Sara V. Speller called the event a “practice picket” and said it was “one more note” that HGSU-UAW members were demanding opening bargaining.

“It would really suck if Harvard didn’t allow its graduate student workers to observe the decisions that are being made about its own contract in the next few years,” Speller told rally attendees, who responded with loud boos.

The graduate student union has officially been bargaining for its third contract since late February, but the talks have been dominated by debate over observation policies. The University cancelled the first scheduled session entirely after HGSU-UAW advertised the meeting on Instagram.

The graduate union joins Harvard’s undergraduate workers union in its decision to continue bargaining without ground rules. The new undergraduate union, made up of roughly 400 students working in University libraries, cafes, and certain offices, has been negotiating for its first contract since March 2024. According to organizers, Harvard officials have not prevented in-unit members from observing negotiations.

HGSU-UAW bargains with the University biweekly. At its next session, bargaining committee members plan to present proposals on appointment letters and grievance and arbitration.

The current graduate student worker contract expires on June 30.

—Staff writer Hugo C. Chiasson can be reached at hugo.chiasson@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @HugoChiassonn.

—Staff writer Amann S. Mahajan can be reached at amann.mahajan@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @amannmahajan.