Bold takeaway: Harvard custodians just won a historic four-year contract that lifts wages beyond local living costs and reshapes protections for immigrant workers, after five months of tough bargaining. And this is the part most people miss: the deal reflects more than money—it changes health coverage, overnight pay, and job security provisions that affect hundreds of workers and set a benchmark for neighboring colleges.
Harvard’s custodial workforce, represented by Service Employees International Union 32BJ, reached a tentative four-year agreement with the University on Tuesday evening, ending a lengthy round of negotiations that stretched close to five months. The pact covers direct university staff and employees from five Harvard-contracted companies. If ratified by the union members, the contract would take effect retroactively from November 15, 2025, the expiration date of the previous agreement.
Key wage changes include a total roughly four-dollar raise over four years, lifting hourly wages from $28.68 to $32.68 by 2029. Wages will be phased in gradually: $0.75 in 2026, $1.00 in 2027, $1.10 in 2028, and $1.15 in 2029. Harvard’s earlier proposal envisioned reaching about $31 by 2029 with smaller annual increases: $0.60, $0.90, $0.90, and $1.00 over the four years. The new structure surpasses the local cost-of-living estimates in the Greater Boston area, which the union’s leadership described as a core objective.
Overnight shift pay also improves—from a $1.75 hourly premium to $2.00—addressing a long-standing demand for better compensation during extended hours.
The agreement follows a period marked by turmoil, including rallies, a two-day strike, and federal mediation, and comes after custodians faced particularly harsh conditions during a recent blizzard that forced some workers to sleep in unsuitable areas due to a lack of adequate sleeping spaces.
In addition to wages, the contract includes a $500 ratification bonus for members once the agreement is ratified, complementing a previously offered $1,000 stipend that Harvard proposed. Healthcare terms remain aligned with the union’s existing framework, preserving annually compounded contributions to the union’s health fund, which supports members who opt into the union’s plan rather than Harvard’s employer plan. The University had previously proposed freezing its annual fund contribution at $1,555 for the first three years of the contract.
The agreement also strengthens protections for immigrant workers, clarifying that custodians facing documentation or visa issues may take a leave of absence and return to work once their status is resolved. However, the union did not secure a joint legal defense fund to help cover legal costs for immigration-related battles.
Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton said the university is pleased with the tentative agreement, noting it remains subject to ratification by the full union membership. He expressed gratitude for the custodians and highlighted the collaborative effort that led to the framework.
The tentative agreement caps a contentious negotiation period that included significant activism and public attention, and it positions the SEIU-32BJ bargaining teams to begin negotiations with other institutions later this year, leveraging the momentum from Harvard’s deal. Union leaders have suggested the gains could influence contracts at MIT, Boston University, Northeastern, Tufts, and beyond.
Brown emphasized that the wage increases are a strategic advantage in a competitive market that serves more than 1,500 workers, and he thanked students who supported the custodians during the bargaining process. He suggested this broader solidarity could translate into stronger leverage in future settlements.
Would you support a framework where wage growth is explicitly tied to local cost-of-living indices, even if it means higher initial university costs? Or do you think annual negotiating flexibility should be preserved to adapt to changing economic conditions?"
