Harvard University Dining Hall Workers Prepare Strike Over Wages and Health Insurance

Harvard University dining hall workers are preparing to go on strike.

The workers, represented by the Unite Here Local 26, say they’ll strike starting Wednesday if a new contract isn’t reached by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.

Union negotiator Michael Kramer says the 750 workers demand “the ability to earn at least $35,000 a year and a health insurance program that does not shift costs onto those who can least afford it.”

The university countered that the workers receive “some of the most generous hourly wages and benefits” for food service workers in the region and that it is proposing “modest” health care changes already accepted by thousands of other unionized university workers.

It also says it has contingencies in place in event of a strike.

The two sides have been negotiating since the summer. The workers’ contract expired Sept. 17.

Topics Education Universities