Hello History folks,
You may have already seen today's email from Harvard GSAS (Emma Dench, Dean
of GSAS) indicating that effective July 1 our individual PhD funding
packages will increase to $50k, inclusive of certain subsidies. HGSU has
been told that this will comprise about $49,000 of take-home pay and about
$1,000 towards dental and travel expenses for GSAS PhD students on a GSAS
funding package. We are still waiting on important details, including what
this means in the years after guaranteed teaching. HGSU is keeping a
running list of questions regarding this funding announcement, so feel free
to email me directly any questions you may have.
*This compensation raise is a direct result of your union organizing in the
middle of a contract. *The email from GSAS came nearly eight months after
the launch of HGSU's Living Wage campaign that many of you participated in,
a campaign involving a petition, multiple rallies, daily flyering, and a
request to reopen bargaining with the University over compensation. The
main demand of the Living Wage campaign was $49,000/yr for all PhD students
- the increase in compensation of wages and subsidies to $50k reflects our
demands.
*By cutting HGSU out of their statement, Harvard presents this pay increase
as an act of sheer generosity on the part of the institution, which fails
to reflect the crucial role of union advocacy in securing a more livable
wage for us*. HGSU is more important than ever as our contract expires in
just over a year. As part of HGSU, we must carry on the fights not just for
increased pay and pay equity across units, but also for a contract that
automatically ties our pay to inflation, as autoworkers in UAW won earlier
this year. We also must continue the fight for real recourse for sexual
harassment, rights and protections for disabled workers, and expanded
healthcare and childcare benefits.
*Our unit is powerful because of engaged members. **If we can win a living
wage outside of bargaining, we can win even more when we come together next
year in bargaining to demand what we need in our next contract.*
To get more involved in HGSU organizing in any number of ways - in your
department, in contract enforcement, in benefit fund administration, or
other ways, please let me know! There’s lots of ways to plug in for those
in the Cambridge area and beyond.
*Not yet a member? Now’s the time to join.*
https://harvardgradunion.org/join/
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly as one of your Social
Science Union Stewards with questions or concerns.
In solidarity,
Catey
Catherine Boyle, she | they
Ph.D. Candidate, History
Certificate, Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Graduate Student Associate, Weatherhead Center for International Studies
https://scholar.harvard.edu/cateyboyle
