Harvard Custodians Begin Two-Day Strike for New Contract

Source: AP

By Hugo C. Chiasson and Amann S. Mahajan, Crimson Staff Writers
9 hours ago
Updated November 17, 2025, at 1:34 p.m.

Harvard custodians launched a strike shortly after 10 a.m. on Monday after union negotiations broke down on the eve of their contract’s expiration, their first strike in at least 50 years.

Roughly 60 workers, who are represented by the Service Employees International Union 32BJ, began picketing in Harvard Yard and outside Harvard Medical School. According to a union press release, the strike is planned to last through Tuesday, when contracted custodial staff are encouraged to stop work and picket.

But unlike most strikes, workers represented by the union did not vote to authorize the action.

32BJ Executive Vice President Kevin Brown said the union bypassed the usual vote in a Saturday meeting because the bargaining committee was unanimous in its disapproval of Harvard’s proposals presented at a Thursday bargaining session.


Custodial staff represented by Service Employees International Union 32BJ stand at a picket near University Hall on Monday. By Hugo C. Chiasson

Read more: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/17/harvard-custodian-strike/