Dear Harvard University Administration,

As members of the Harvard community, we call upon the Harvard University Administration to bargain in good faith for a fair contract with HGSU-UAW Local 5118 after seven months of negotiations and to do everything within their power to avoid a strike. The administration has been slow to find common ground agreements, and had two federal unfair labor practices filed against it by HGSU-UAW. We stand with the Harvard student workers in their demand for fair pay that reflects the cost of living, real protections against all forms of discrimination and harassment, and union security.

Last year, the cost of living increased by over 4% in Cambridge. Your proposal for a mere 2.5% increase upon ratification of the contract, followed by increases of 3% each of the next two years, means a decrease in student workers' real wages. This is unacceptable. All Harvard workers deserve fair pay.

Every other union on Harvard’s campus has access to neutral third-party grievance and arbitration for cases of harassment and discrimination. The dining workers with UNITE HERE Local 26 just settled a contract that includes the same protections for which student workers are asking. Student workers are requesting additional options for survivors: a third party, neutral arbitration procedure. Graduate students should not be excluded from the protections that other Harvard workers have enjoyed for years. Additionally, they deserve to have majority third-party hearing panels in the decision-making process for Title IX cases, as well as access to financial assistance for lawyers in these cases. The power imbalance and lack of accountability cannot continue.

Every other union on Harvard’s campus has union security, meaning that all workers in the bargaining unit contribute equally to support their union. Union dues are crucial to the sustainability of any union and are necessary to cover legal, representational, administrative and other costs. Every other Harvard worker represented by a union is required to pay union dues or agency fees—graduate students are the only exception. As members of the Harvard community, we do not want Harvard to be associated with the nationwide attacks on union security exemplified through the passage of so-called "right-to-work" laws, which have been used to trample the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain. We demand that Harvard respect graduate student workers' collective rights by not excluding them from the union security agreements that all other Harvard workers enjoy.

We will stand with Harvard’s student workers as they stand on the picket line. We support HGSU’s strike action and call upon the administration to address their bargaining demands promptly.

Sincerely,