Local
Harvard dining staff approve strike option amid contract dispute
More than 800 Harvard dining workers have authorized their union to call a strike as they negotiate a contract, with wages a central issue. The vote comes days after the university reported a record $68 billion endowment.
More than 800 Harvard University dining workers have voted to authorize a strike, giving UNITE HERE Local 26 the power to call a walkout as contract negotiations continue.
The vote took place Tuesday night, Oct. 20. Workers have been without a contract since June, and wages are a primary point of contention. The authorization does not mean a strike has been called, but it gives the union the option to do so.
Harvard’s full-time dining workers earn slightly more than $30 an hour. Because they work during the academic year, their annual pay is about $45,639, according to figures reported with the vote. Part-time workers earn about $18,255 a year.
The union says Harvard dining workers are paid less than counterparts at nearby universities. It puts the difference at roughly $1 an hour at Northeastern and $5 an hour at MIT.
The labor dispute comes as Harvard’s endowment reached a record $68 billion, the university reported last week. Harvard dining workers last went on strike in October 2016.