{
"type": "rich",
"version": "1.0",
"provider_name": "Action Network",
"provider_url": "https://actionnetwork.org",
"html": "",
"author_name": "Harvard Graduate Students Union-UAW (HGSU-UAW)",
"author_url": "https://actionnetwork.org/groups/hgsu-uaw",
"title": "Tell Harvard: We Demand Open Bargaining!",
"thumbnail_url": "https://actionnetwork.org//images/generic_facebook.jpg",
"description": "Our Fight for Open Bargaining Since its founding in 2018, HGSU-UAW has consistently supported an open and transparent bargaining process in which ALL HGSU members – not just the Bargaining Committee – are empowered to observe bargaining sessions with Harvard. Transparent and open bargaining is a fundamental pillar of maintaining our union democracy because it enables the entire membership to engage with the bargaining process. Open bargaining is also critical to ensure the University knows that our proposals are not just being proposed by ~20 members of our Bargaining Committee, but are also important to the over 5,000 workers in our unit. The University's Weaponized Delay Our position on open bargaining has been clear to Harvard since we first began planning for bargaining sessions in early February. Yet, the university informed us only **48 hours** before our first scheduled session that they would NOT agree to having observers present! To get negotiations rolling, HGSU reluctantly agreed to their insistence to not have members present in the bargaining room for our initial discussion. We hoped we could use the time during our first session to convince the University why we needed future sessions to be open to all members. But Harvard didn’t believe us. They cancelled the session the morning of. When the bargaining committee showed up to check out the building where bargaining was supposed to happen, we found that the University was scared that HGSU members would be on the premises: not even in the room! They locked down the WHOLE building, barring not only our bargaining committee but also making it difficult for other staff who work there from entering. To make matters worse, the University also had police patrolling the location. Why are We the Exception? Another campus union — HAW – is currently bargaining, and Harvard management allows them to invite observers to their bargaining sessions. Open bargaining is also common in other higher education union spaces, which is why HGSU had open bargaining during previous contract negotiations. We feel that Harvard is unfairly singling out HGSU by refusing to allow for open bargaining. What You Can Do This is an absurd reaction from the University over a simple position: we want everyone who’ll be affected by this contract - that’s YOU - to directly observe negotiations about their rights, benefits, and protections. These are rights that Harvard affords to thousands of other workers negotiating on our campus right now — why are we the exception? Why such an extreme response? As HGSU membership, we NEED to show Harvard how important open bargaining is to us. Here’s how we’re going to do it! Sign this petition. Once you’ve done so, send it to 3 of your co-workers and encourage them to sign as well. Stay tuned for upcoming actions/socials our community can take around open bargaining & other bargaining goals! If you have any questions or want to help support with anything around bargaining or organizing for a strong contract, you can always reach us at bargaining@hgsu.org.",
"url": "https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-harvard-we-demand-open-bargaining"
}