Labor
Blue Bottle Workers Begin 4-Day Strike As Union Seeks First Contract
Blue Bottle workers began a strike on Wednesday morning as the union representing them negotiates its first contract, accusing the Nestlé-owned coffee shop chain of stalling the bargaining process and firing union organizers.
Former Employee Sues Harvard for Disability Discrimination
A former Harvard audiovisual technician sued the University and her former manager for disability discrimination and retaliation in state court earlier this month, according to court documents.
Students Gather Nearly 500 Signatures in Support of Striking Custodians
Nearly 500 Harvard affiliates signed a petition on Tuesday in support of striking University custodians ahead of a new round of talks with Harvard negotiators on Wednesday.
800 Affiliates Petition Harvard To Aid Venezuelan Staff After TPS Expiration
More than 800 Harvard affiliates urged the University to offer legal assistance to staff members who lost their authorization to live and work in the United States after the Temporary Protected Status program for Venezuelan nationals expired this month.
Harvard Custodians Begin Two-Day Strike for New Contract
Harvard custodians launched a strike shortly after 10 a.m. on Monday after union negotiations broke down on the eve of their contract’s expiration, their first strike in at least 50 years.
Harvard Technology Services Lays Off Dozens of Workers, Citing ‘Financial Challenges’
Harvard laid off 38 information technology workers last week in its latest cost-cutting measure as the University faces extended financial uncertainty.
Harvard Rolls Back Wage Freeze for Custodian Union
Harvard walked back a wage freeze and slightly raised compensation offers to custodians in a contract proposal on Wednesday in bargaining with the Service Employees International Union 32BJ.
Harvard Dental Center To Lay Off Staff After Closing Cambridge Clinic
The Harvard School of Dental Medicine will lay off staff in the Harvard Dental Center following its decision to permanently close its clinic location in Cambridge.
Grad Union Contract Negotiations Stall Over Key Demands
At their fourteenth session on Friday, Harvard rejected 12 out of 16 outstanding article proposals presented by the Harvard Graduate Student Union-United Auto Workers. The remaining four are still under negotiation and were not presented at the Friday session.
Harvard Proposes Yearlong Wage Freeze to Custodians Amid Financial Headwinds
Harvard proposed freezing custodian wages for the next year in a contract proposal to their union on Thursday to try to cut labor costs across worker groups as it navigates financial uncertainty.
1,300 Harvard Academic Workers Sign Petition Demanding Union Contract
Nearly 1,300 non-tenure-track faculty signed onto a petition and delivered it to Harvard’s top brass at Massachusetts Hall on Thursday, demanding a union contract “as soon as possible."
Grad Union Rallies Against Removal of 900 Students from Bargaining Unit
Roughly 50 Harvard affiliates gathered outside Harvard Medical School’s Gordon Hall on Friday to protest the University’s July decision to remove more than 900 students on research-based stipends from the graduate student union.
FAS Officials Confront Union Organizers Over Harvard’s Campus Use Rules During Rally
Faculty of Arts and Sciences officials confronted members of Harvard’s campus unions over their use of a megaphone at a Thursday rally on the steps of Widener Library, citing a violation of Harvard’s campus use rules.
Cambridge City Council Denounces Harvard’s Removal of 900 Grad Students From Union
The Cambridge City Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Monday condemning Harvard’s removal of roughly 900 workers from its graduate student union, calling on the University to address the demands of its unions during ongoing contract negotiations.
Unionized Blank Street Workers Push For Higher Pay, Better Working Conditions
Workers at Blank Street’s Harvard Square location said that long lines, inadequate resources, and low paychecks led them and six other Boston-area locations to vote to unionize this past June.
Harvard Lays Off Student Advisers and Lecturers in SEAS Cuts
Nearly a dozen positions that directly support students were among those eliminated in a sweeping round of layoffs at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences earlier this month, according to a document obtained by The Crimson.
Harvard Unions Stage Poster Campaign in Protest of Black Lives Matter Sign Removal
Members of three Harvard unions plastered hundreds of Black Lives Matter posters across campus on Thursday to protest the University’s decision to remove a sign bearing the same message from two professors’ office windows this summer.
Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Lays Off 25% of HUCTW Staff
Harvard will lay off roughly 25 percent of staff represented by its clerical and technical workers’ union at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and reorganize several offices in response to mounting funding pressures, according to the union.
Security Guards Present Wage, Leave Proposals at First Bargaining Session
Harvard security guards presented proposals asking for wage increases that keep up with inflation and expanded retirement options during their first bargaining session with Securitas Security Services on Wednesday.
Nurses at Dana-Farber Foxborough Ask for Equal Pay to Their MGB Counterparts
Nurses at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Foxborough campus sent a letter on Friday asking DFCI to eliminate their pay disparity with Mass General Brigham nurses working in the same building.
Harvard’s Undergrad Workers Unionized 2 Years Ago. Their First Contract Is Still Nowhere in Sight.
Nearly two years after unionizing, Harvard’s undergraduate worker union is nowhere near a first contract, leaving student workers stranded as the University closes several of their workplaces.
Harvard Custodians Open Contract Negotiations With Wage and Benefit Requests
Harvard custodians presented a suite of economic proposals to University officials at their first bargaining session on Tuesday, asking for raises to compensate for inflation since the pandemic began.
Harvard Proposes Yearlong Wage Freeze to Non-Tenure Track Faculty Union
Harvard proposed keeping non-tenure-track faculty salaries flat through June 2026 during negotiations with their union on Thursday — an early sign that the University will resist major wage increases as it weathers a funding crisis.
Grad Union Stands to Make More Than $1 Million in Annual Dues if Agency Shop Proposal Passes
When Harvard removed more than 900 students from the graduate student union’s bargaining unit in July, the union lost not just 450 official members, but $20,000 in monthly union fees.
New Progressive Organization Pushes School Committee Candidates to Empower Teachers at Forum
The Cambridge Progressive Electoral Collaboration pushed School Committee candidates to commit to increasing teacher involvement in district leadership decisions during their Sunday afternoon forum.