Harvard grad student union stages sit-in over labour dispute

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A union for Harvard University graduate students is staging a campus sit-in to pressure the school to meet its labour demands.

Roughly 30 students gathered inside a building in Harvard Yard on Wednesday as others marched outside in support of the Harvard Graduate Students Union.

Harvard administrators and union representatives have been negotiating an initial labour contract for the group since last year. The union says it’s pushing for higher wages, affordable health care and stronger protections against sexual harassment.

A statement from Harvard says it’s “fully engaged at the bargaining table” but that negotiating takes time.

Harvard graduate students voted last year to unionize with United Auto Workers. They join students at other U.S. campuses that have organized since a federal panel said graduate student employees could form unions.