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Harvard University – GSU-UAW and Harvard Academic Workers-UAW Rally

February 2026
Harvard University (Private college or university)
Cambridge, MA

Identity of Speakers

  • Harvard Graduate Students Union‑United Auto Workers (HGSU‑UAW)
    Student
    Other

    Represents graduate student workers at Harvard University.

  • Harvard Academic Workers‑UAW
    Student
    Other

    Represents postdoctoral researches and other academic workers.

Resources

Additional Information

  • Incident Nature:
    Rally or protest
  • Incident Political Orientation:
    Not Clear
  • Incident Responses:
    Other
  • Incident Status:
    No litigation
  • Did not involve Speech Codes

Summary

On February 5, 2026, roughly 200 Harvard affiliates, including graduate student workers, postdoctoral researchers, and academic workers, gathered in Science Center Plaza for a rally organized by HGSU-UAW and Harvard Academic Workers-UAW. The event focused on ongoing contract negotiations, unresolved labor issues, and the broader working conditions of graduate student and academic workers. Speakers emphasized the need for protections for time-capped faculty and non-citizen workers, called for fair wages, and highlighted the solidarity among different groups of workers across the University.

The rally followed months of tension stemming from Harvard’s removal of roughly 900 graduate students from the union’s bargaining unit. The University took this action on July 1, 2025, shortly after the union’s contract expired on June 30. Harvard claimed these students, who receive research stipends, were not employees, while union leaders argued that the students performed the same teaching and research duties as other members and that the carve-out undermined essential labor protections. In response, union members organized meetings and smaller demonstrations to protest the removal and demand that all affected students remain in the bargaining unit.

The controversy drew attention from local officials, and on October 21, 2025, the Cambridge City Council passed a resolution denouncing Harvard’s actions and urging the University to negotiate in good faith. Following this, on November 3, 2025, graduate student union members held a demonstration outside Harvard Medical School to protest the carve-out, demanding that all affected students be restored to union membership. Speakers described the University’s actions as part of a broader pattern of bad-faith bargaining, including disputes over arbitration procedures, discrimination protections, and compensation.

Building on the momentum of the February 5 rally, the union advanced its bargaining agenda the following week. On February 11, 2026, HGSU-UAW presented proposals calling for a 12 percent base wage increase, annual cost-of-living raises, and expanded support for childcare, health care, and legal services. These proposals linked economic demands to the broader solidarity emphasized at the rally, while negotiations with the University continued.