CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The union representing thousands of Harvard University graduate students went on strike Tuesday morning.
Two picketing locations are planned at the Science Center Plaza and Countway Plaza in the Longwood area.
The Harvard Graduate Student Union said they have been at the bargaining table for 14 months and have worked nearly a year without a working contract.
Their demands include fair pay and raises that keep up with inflation, protections for non-citizen workers, and external processes with third-party arbitration for cases of harassment, discrimination, and abuse in the workplace.
HGSU is made up of 4,000 workers.
Workers participating in the strike will suspend classroom teaching, grading, mentorship, and laboring in their PhD programs.
They want to raise the minimum wage for hourly workers from $21 to $25 an hour.
“We do not take the decision to strike lightly. We are here because we love the teaching and research we do, and many of us want to make it our life’s work. However, we cannot do world-class teaching when we cannot afford rent or childcare and are afraid of being harassed or detained on the job,” said President and Vice President of HGSU-UAW Sara Speller and Sudipta Saha, in an email to the Harvard community on Friday.
The Boston Globe reports that Harvard has offered HGSU a 10% pay bump for union positions over a four-year period.
The university also told the Globe that it addressed other key issues over 23 bargaining sessions.
This isn’t the only union on campus in a contract negotiation.
Harvard Academic Workers said, in the same video posted by HGSU, that they’re voting to authorize their own strike.
They said they have similar goals and have been at the bargaining table for 18 months.
Boston 25 reached out to Harvard about the strike on Tuesday morning.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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