HARVARD JOBS AT STAKE

Service union asks president to keep them employed

Harvard employees came out of the dining halls, security stations, and custodial offices to rally in the yard Thursday, asking university President Lawrence Bacow to save their livelihoods by extending a pandemic pay policy set to expire Friday.

“We, the workers, are the people who provide the service that Harvard presents to all these kids that come here and spend thousands and thousands of dollars,” said Harvard Law School chef Eugene Van Buren.

The university announced in November that as of today it would discontinue a policy that allowed Harvard contract employees put out of work by the pandemic to use emergency excuse absence to keep collecting their wages.

The decision impacts more than 300 workers in the food, custodial and security services. Harvard Business School and Harvard Graduate School of Education have offered to cover the pay of custodians working on their campuses, but all other contract workers are left vulnerable to possible layoffs.

Despite their status as contract employees, many workers have served the school for more than a decade.

“They are largely coming from Black and brown communities that are hardest hit due to the COVID infection rates, the unemployment rates in their communities, and eviction rates,” said Roxana Rivera, vice president of the local service employees union.

Many workers rallying in Harvard Yard Thursday cited the school’s endowment as a reason for them to continue the policy: the fund grew more than 7% in 2020 to nearly $42 billion, according to its own reporting.

“Harvard’s endowment rose during this pandemic. If these workers are displaced, it has long-term consequences for them and their communities. It just adds to the crisis,” Rivera told the Herald.

However, Harvard reports it operated on a loss of $10 million in 2020, compared to a surplus of $308 million in 2019.

Harvard Kennedy School Professor Richard Parker joined the workers in their rally, and made a direct plea to the university president.

“President Bacow, we have the resources to make this a human community. Please show the leadership to do that work,” he said.

“We have to create a community that is founded in equality, not in privilege,” Parker added.

President Bacow’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

STUART CAHILL PHOTOS / HERALD STAFF ‘NO LAYOFFS’: Union workers hold up signs Thursday as they protest layoffs at Harvard University in Cambridge.

‘SHOW THE LEADERSHIP’: Harvard University professor Richard Parker, of the Kennedy School, speaks in support of the workers, saying the university has the money to ‘make this a human community.’

‘LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES’: Union Vice President Roxana Rivera speaks to the crowd, pointing out that Harvard’s endowment ‘rose during this pandemic.’