On Saturday, December 11th, we held a poll assessing the satisfaction of student workers with the current contract proposed by the University on December 9th, along with an evaluation of possible forms of escalation. In the poll, student workers were asked to rate each of the major areas of the contract still under dispute on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 indicating something abysmal and completely unacceptable, and 4 indicating a contract provision acceptable as is. Any ranking under 4 indicates that the language is not acceptable as it stands and must be improved. The aggregate results of these rankings by the unit are collated into a table below.

We hope you had a restful weekend and thank you again for those who came out to our General Body Meeting on Saturday night. It was an informative meeting and we will continue our conversations in caucuses and in Wednesday’s GBM as well.

What a week we’ve had! Not only did we have an historic campus-wide shutdown as we entered our 6th week on strike, we’ve received record breaking contributions to our Hardship Fund — over $26.5k since yesterday, and $50k in the last week — from comrades across the globe! Yesterday saw another article in the New York Times on the University’s retaliation efforts, and also in the Guardian. Our Round 3 disbursements will match the generosity that our supporters have shown us so please don’t be shy, apply to the Hardship Fund and we will help you get your needs met. Round 3 closes Friday (tomorrow) at 11:59pm so get your application in ASAP (apply here) and disbursements will go out around December 14th.

During Wednesday’s mediation session, the university team presented a revised proposal on arbitration based on Harvard’s recently adopted agreement with its student workers. We expressed our dissatisfaction with the EOAA and with the limitations imposed on seeking third party neutral arbitration in the university’s recent proposal. Nevertheless, we agreed to consider the university’s priorities and return with a counter proposal.

During Wednesday’s mediation session, the university team presented a revised proposal on arbitration based on Harvard’s recently adopted agreement with its student workers. We expressed our dissatisfaction with the EOAA and with the limitations imposed on seeking third party neutral arbitration in the university’s recent proposal. Nevertheless, we agreed to consider the university’s priorities and return with a counter proposal.

Tonight we received an email from HR threatening to withhold some appointment letters for the Spring semester if we do not end our strike by December 10th. Make no mistake that this threat is a form of retaliation and intended to break the power of our strike. This threat is illegal, and it demonstrates that the university is bargaining in bad faith. It also shows that our strike is working and the university is desperate to end it.

The purpose of the mediation session on Wednesday was to give us a clearer understanding of the flexibility of the university on our four main concerns: compensation, health insurance, recognition, and neutral arbitration. The main takeaway however, was that the university is at present unwilling to make concrete concessions beyond what they have previously signalled. 

We hope this email finds you and your loved ones well and safe, and that these days come with much needed rest and quality time with them. 

We just got notified for a mediation session today. The session with the mediator will begin at 12.30, with caucus at 12.00. We look forward to seeing you there!

Today we had our first caucus with mediator Kevin Flanigan. He came prepared with specific questions about our history, our current demands, and our vision for moving forward.

We are entering into mediation on strong footing - on our terms, with our choice of mediator, with a strong strike (the largest in the country) - and remain optimistic about negotiations moving forward. The University agreed to proceed with Kevin Flanigan as our mediator.

The Bargaining Committee and the University have agreed to meet to interview our choice for mediator Kevin Flanigan, as well as the university’s choice of joint mediators Carol A. Wittenberg and Damali Peterman.