Dining hall workers prepare for strike

Harvard University dining hall workers are preparing to go on strike.

The workers, represented by the Unite Here Local 26, say they’ll strike starting Wednesday if a new contract isn’t reached by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.

Union negotiator Michael Kramer said the 750 workers demand “the ability to earn at least $35,000 a year and a health insurance program that does not shift costs onto those who can least afford it.”

The university countered that the workers receive “some of the most generous hourly wages and benefits” for food-service workers in the region and that it is proposing “modest” health care changes already accepted by thousands of other unionized university workers. It also said it has contingencies in place in the event of a strike.

The workers’ contract expired Sept. 17.