Overview
- The second union, Harvard Academic Workers‑UAW, joined the Harvard Graduate Students Union strike on Tuesday, Nov. 10, expanding the work stoppage to include roughly thousands of non‑tenure‑track instructors, postdocs, and preceptors.
- Both unions say core demands remain unmet after long bargaining—HAW had spent more than two years and about 54 sessions negotiating for its first contract—so strikes continue with no contract yet.
- Harvard says it has offered substantial economic and benefits proposals, citing roughly a near‑16 percent compounded pay increase over the contract period and plans to raise minimum lecturer pay toward about $75,000, but unions dispute those offers on across‑the‑board raises, family and childcare benefits, noncitizen protections, and independent harassment complaint procedures.
- The walkouts have disrupted undergraduate instruction and grading, removing sections, office hours, and some exams support and producing at least one widely reported midterm interruption on Oct. 29 when picketers used amplified noisemakers that a professor called a "sonic assault."
- Coverage diverges on broader themes with left‑leaning outlets focusing on student impact and bargaining history while right‑leaning outlets highlight alleged outside ties and protest tactics, and observers warn the dispute could widen if other campus unions move from authorization to strike.