Petition Seeking Employment Protections for Harvard’s Custodians Gaining Support

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the jobs of many contract workers at education facilities, with some college and universities officials making a difficult decision to lay off workers or halt their benefits.

Harvard University officials announced that the emergency excused absence policy implemented in March would no longer apply to most of its 850 contract custodians, security officers, and dining staff working at the university’s Cambridge, Massachusetts campus, The Crimson reports. In response, Harvard’s custodial staff held two rallies demanding the university not lay off contract workers.

In addition, the staff advocacy coalition and the local 32BJ branch of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents Harvard’s custodial staff, created a petition to demand that the university extend the same employment protection to contracted staff members that it offers its direct employees. 

According to Chris Chu de León, a student at Harvard Kennedy School and lead organizer of the staff advocacy coalition, the petition garnered over 1,100 signatures from staff, faculty, and alumni in 24 hours. Chu de León said the petition was delivered to Katherine N. Lapp, Harvard’s  executive vice president, and the deans of each school at the university. “There is no reason that contracted workers are less deserving of rights and job protections than their directly employed counterparts. The pandemic and resulting economic hardship do not discriminate, and neither should Harvard,” Chu de León said.

The petition is also receiving support from the Cambridge City Council, which passed a resolution supporting Harvard custodians seeking contract extension.