Grad Student Union Introduces First Contract Articles Following Bargaining Observation Debate

Harvard’s graduate student union and the University presented initial articles for the union’s third contract at a Thursday bargaining session, following a protracted debate over ground rules.

At the session, Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Auto Workers presented proposals to extend the grievance filing deadline from 30 days to 90, receive employment letters within 60 days of the employment start date for salaried workers, and guarantee easily accessible private meeting spaces.

The University put forward an article on intellectual property and scholarly misconduct, proposing that workers would only be entitled to union representation during investigations of misconduct allegations if the allegation was “specific to the work associated with their HGSU appointment.”

In a Thursday press release, union officials wrote that students “routinely fail to receive contractually guaranteed appointment letters which contain essential information about their work; do not have appropriate resources in terms of physical or remote workspace to complete their work in a reasonable fashion; and worry about raising workplace issues given fears of retaliation.”

They added that the union’s proposals “mark a first key step forward in our fight for a fair contract.”

HGSU-UAW has been bargaining with the University for its third contract for over a month, but spent its first meetings — following an initial canceled session — debating over bargaining observation. Though the union wanted rank-and-file members to be able to observe negotiations, the two parties agreed to move forward without ground rules at a March 28 session.

HGSU-UAW bargaining committee member Benjamin B. Daniels said the union was “very pleased with the progress” made at Thursday’s session, though he does not expect the union to have an agreement in place by the time its current contract expires in June.

At Thursday’s session, the union presented a proposal on grievance and arbitration that would extend the grievance filing deadline and allow student workers the option of having their immediate supervisors excluded from initial grievance hearings.

The union also brought a proposal on employment letters requiring that letters be sent within 60 days before the employment start date for salaried workers and that they include the worker’s source of funding if applicable.

“Students, especially doing research work, want to know what their sources of funding are — one, so that they can, in some cases, make an assessment of the security of that funding, but also to have an assessment of what the outputs of their work will be used for,” Daniels said.

In a proposal on workspace, remote work, and materials, the union added provisions requesting that the University allow expanded remote working arrangements and guarantee office and desk spaces, alongside private meeting spaces.

In response to the University’s proposal on intellectual property and scholarly misconduct, union officials wrote in the Thursday release that it included “troubling reductions” in its changes to student worker access to union representation during investigations of misconduct allegations.

While the two parties have agreed to negotiate without an observation policy, the union did not rule out the possibility of expanding its bargaining team following last month’s meeting.

In Thursday’s press release, union officials noted that the session “included a diverse bargaining team including student workers from across the University,” though it did not mention whether the union had expanded its team.

In the release, union officials encouraged members to reach out if they would like to be involved in bargaining.

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to comment on the bargaining session, referring The Crimson to a March 5 statement that stated “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.”

“Labor negotiations at the table have proven effective in reaching agreements that are beneficial to both parties, and the University is committed to pursuing that path with all of its unions, including HGSU-UAW,” Newton wrote.

The union’s next bargaining session is scheduled for May 1.

—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.