Eight Bargaining Sessions In, How Do Harvard Grad Students Unionâs Proposals Stack Up to Other Unionsâ Contracts?
Less than a year ago, Harvardâs graduate student union ratified its first contract with the University, ending 19 months of negotiations. Now, the Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile Workers is back at the bargaining table negotiating for its second contract.
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Less than a year ago, Harvardâs graduate student union ratified its first contract with the University, ending 19 months of negotiations. Now, the Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile Workers is back at the bargaining table negotiating for its second contract.
Eight sessions in, a number of key contentions that dominated the previous contract negotiations have returned to the forefront: increased compensation and health care benefits, stronger non-discrimination procedures, international student worker protections, and agency shop â the requirement that all
After attending bargaining sessions with Harvard to negotiate the graduate student unionâs second contract, rank-and-file union members said the Universityâs bargaining team was resistant to the unionâs proposed changes, especially on the topics of compensation and procedures for handling complaints of identity-based discrimination and sexual harassment.
âThereâs a palpable sense of resistance to really engage in the discussion,â said Harvard Graduate Student Union-United Automobile Workers member Harrison T. Reeder, a Biostatistics Ph.D. candidate.
HGSU-UAW and the University have held four bargaining sessions since March 18, and agreed to open the bargaining sessions on April 9, April 19, and April 26 to union members. Approximately 40 to 80 members observed each of the three open sessions, according to HGSU-UAW Vice President Marisa J. Borreggine. The May 6, May 18, and May 24 sessions will also be open to observers, and more open sessions could be