We began our bargaining session on Wednesday, April 23, by pressing the administration on what they are doing to protect the research and teaching mission at this time of crisis and attacks by the Trump administration. The administration did not offer any specifics, saying that the general economic situation facing Harvard is too uncertain to share any plans.
We asked if the Corporation was planning to provide bridge funding for researchers hit with stop-work orders. They said they were not aware of any funds being budgeted for this purpose. We told them that we’ve heard that the union negotiations have been invoked by departments in explaining why they cannot retain time-capped faculty by hiring them into other roles. The administration clarified that it is the economic issue, and not the ongoing union negotiations, that has led to a hiring freeze.
Because our noncitizen workers are facing intense and urgent problems due to Trump’s threats and attacks on international Harvard community members, we asked to have additional conversations with the administration outside of contract negotiations. This would allow us to respond to the ongoing crisis in a shorter timeframe than our Noncitizens Rights article can deliver.
We discussed the administration’s rejection of PI Rights (something guaranteed as places like Mt. Sinai). They maintain that postdocs filling out reporting requirements is a liability. This is in line with the Harvard lawyer’s view that “the life of a postdoc is the beginning of a research career.”
We presented two new articles and two counter proposals:
- Access Needs (new proposal) – Our proposal would ensure that disability accommodations are available to workers who need them. Importantly, because requiring medical documentation can take long periods of time and delay necessary accommodations, we propose that such supports not be delayed by documentation requirements.
- Health and Safety (new proposal) – This article (which is distinct from our future proposal on health/dental/vision insurance benefits) lays out protections for workers safety in labs, classrooms, and other spaces. We included provisions to support unit members who experience doxxing and to provide mental health and other support for workers in the event of workplace violence such as a mass shooting. We emphasized that the high-profile nature of our institution sadly makes protections like these especially important.
- Job Postings (passback) – We are getting closer, but we held our ground on a few issues, including requiring the Corporation to let us know about exceptional cases where a position is filled without being publicly announced.
- Flexible Working Arrangements (passback) – With this counterproposal, we rejected the Corporation’s attempt to exclude the entire article from the grievance process. When is a contract not a contract? When it’s not enforceable!
The Corporation presented two counterproposals:
- Union Access (passback): The administration does not want to provide individual data to the union about the race, ethnicity, and gender of members. This information is important for our ability to monitor equity issues within our unit. They also refused to provide information on workers’ visa status, citing security concerns under the current administration.
- Evaluations (passback): the Corporation wanted to make evaluations non-grievable. They do not want to require formal evaluations in writing for all workers. For example citing, that it would be hard to get professors to write evaluations for postdocs but that professional development is a criteria
Next Bargaining: May 19 @ 2 PM
Our next bargaining session will be Monday, May 19th form 2-5 PM. RSVP here if you want to observe either in person or by zoom.
In solidarity,
HAW-UAW Bargaining Committee (FAS/HMS/HDS)