As federal pressure mounts, Harvard custodians rally for better pay
As Harvard University students stayed warm inside their dormitories and watched inches of snow fall outside their windows this month, some security guards and custodians slept over at work to make sure they'd be able to get to campus.
They shoveled a foot of snow to form pathways so classes could resume and people could walk safely through the campus.
Harvard security officer Heather Hayes said that care isn't being reflected in their compensation.
"It's a deliberate choice to devalue and fail to fairly compensate the workers whose bodies are on the line for the Harvard community," Hayes said at a Thursday 32BJ SEIU union rally.
A Harvard spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Harvard custodians rallied on Feb. 19, 2026 for fair wages and benefits.Courtesy 32BJ SEIU
At noon on Thursday, hundreds of Harvard custodians and allies gathered with U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, and state Rep. Marjorie Decker, D-25th Middlesex, outside a Harvard Square building, where negotiations on union contracts were beginning after a two-month hiatus.
They sang union songs and chanted back and forth with purple hats and signs.
The custodians' contract expired in mid-November after weeks of failed negotiations, a one-day strike and the admission of a federal mediator.
The agreements cover more than 800 direct employees and cleaning contractors at the institution.
The custodians and politicians acknowledged during the rally that Harvard has undergone a variety of attacks from the Trump administration, from federal funding cuts to lawsuits about race-based admissions data
"I know that Donald Trump is trying to take Harvard's money, but they have more money than he can take — just look at all the construction everywhere," said Sonia Pires, a custodian at Harvard for 25 years. "If they can do that, why can't they give us an increase that we need?"
Harvard custodians rallied on Feb. 19, 2026 for fair wages and benefits.Courtesy 32BJ SEIU
However, Pressley said Harvard can still do better.
Decker said the contract represents only a small fraction of the institution's growing endowment.
"While we fight for their right to academic freedom, which we believe in, we need them fighting for economic justice right here at home," Decker said.
Both Decker and Pressley were denied admission to the negotiating session that followed the rally by Harvard management, the union said.
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