The union has demanded that Northeastern agree to the same standard of a minimum annual income for full-time workers of $35,000 per year and affordable health care coverage. Local 26 has over 350 members on the Northeastern campus. A large majority of the Northeastern workforce is made up of immigrant and oppressed nationality workers. These workers previously captured media attention on Jan. 20 when they walked off their jobs in protest of the inauguration of Donald Trump.

In a room packed full of students and workers at Northeastern’s Curry Student Center, members of the union’s bargaining committee reiterated their commitment to these demands. At the front of the room was a display of photographs of over 300 workers who have already pledged to strike if an agreement is not reached. Union member Angela Bello announced that an official strike authorization vote will be held on Oct. 4. Bello described the mood of the workers as they prepare for the vote, saying, “We are proud – we are not scared.”

Northeastern dining hall worker Thomas Gross described the struggle of raising his daughter on the low wage paid at the university. Gross said that the situation has reached a point where all involved must make a decision. “Will you be silent or will you strive for more?” Gross asked the crowd. “Will you be afraid or will you stand up against injustice?” Gross stated that the 300 photos of his coworkers served as an answer to the questions that he posed – Northeastern workers will not be silent. Gross went on to say that he will be casting his vote for strike authorization “in his daughter’s name.”

After the announcement, workers and students streamed out of the room and rallied inside of the student center. Chants in English and Spanish filled the halls of the student center until Northeastern University police officers forced the demonstration outside. According to witnesses, Northeastern police ejected a reporter from Spanish language television station Telemundo as well as the union’s chief negotiator from the event before the speaking program began.

The police reaction was a clear indication of the growing tension between workers and their allies and the university administration. The workers were clearly undeterred. According to Gross, they have made their demands clear and are “going to do anything and everything to get it.”

#BostonMA #PeoplesStruggles #Massachusetts #NorthwesternUniversity

Cambridge, MA – Hundreds of Harvard University workers and students rallied in the middle of Harvard Yard on April 14, as dining service workers prepare to enter negotiations for a new union contract. The workers are members of UNITE HERE Local 26, which represents nearly 800 workers on Harvard’s campus. The rally focused on two key issues which are expected to loom large in negotiations with the university administration – health care and year-round work.

Last year, Harvard management inspired headlines and protests by gutting the health insurance of its faculty and other non-union staff. The largest union at the university, the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW), recently settled on a less onerous plan but still agreed to some cost-shifting to workers. Dining service workers who spoke at the rally made it clear that they were prepared to resist any attacks on their healthcare. Dining hall worker Anabella Pappas referenced Harvard’s record setting fundraising campaign, which has now raised over $6.5 billion in two and a half years. “These people have all this money and they still want to take from us,” said Pappas. “It disgusts me.”

The workers also referenced the struggle to survive without year-round employment. The dining hall workers are laid off during summer and winter breaks. Some workers in the crowd said that many of them can only rely on eight or nine months of work per year. In addition, the Harvard workers are legally barred from collecting unemployment during the months of layoff. Despite having won high hourly wages through past contract fights, many of the workers spoke of annual incomes that are out of step with these wages. In response to stories about the hardships created by this partial employment, the crowd chanted, “Hey Harvard, you’ve got cash, why do you treat your workers like trash?”

The members of Local 26 were joined by a large group of SEIU 32BJ members, who work in custodial and security jobs on campus. The SEIU members’ contract with the university expires in the fall. Student activists from multiple organizations were present in large numbers and very vocal in their support for the workers. Statements of support were made by organizations including the Student Labor Action Movement, Divest Harvard, the Harvard Islamic Society, and the Harvard Black Students Association.

#CambridgeMA #PeoplesStruggles #Protest #Harvard #fight #contract #Massachusetts