Catherwood LibraryILR School

Earlier this month, the NLRB officially certified the results of Harvard’s controversial representation election that took place in November of last year. Weeks after the initial election, it was revealed that Harvard had acted in bad faith by failing to provide accurate voter lists, and in April the NLRB decided to allow the union to hold another election. The board recently confirmed that the November 2016 election results ended in a relatively narrow loss for the union, with 1,526 votes against unionizing and 1,396 in favor. Organizers are now gearing up for another election to be held this spring. The administration responded quickly to the news of a second election, sending a campus wide email that all but condemned the organization drive, urging students to consider the “potential impact of unionization”. Student organizers are particularly concerned with the lack of continuity in pay across the university, arguing that a standard contract and collective representation would offer more stability and also help balance the relationship between graduate students and the professors that they work with.