We are Harvard Academic Workers, a union of non-tenure-track researchers and teachers across Harvard. We currently have two bargaining units (see our FAQ for more info on what that means): FAS/HMS/HDS, postdocs, lecturers, instructors, teaching assistants, core facility scientists, and more; and HLS clinical workers. These bargaining units were recognized by the NLRB in April 2024, after we won our elections with an overwhelming majority (>93%!) of YES votes. We are now in the process of bargaining with Harvard for our first contracts to improve our working conditions.

It’s an exciting time for our new union, as we decide what we want our working lives to look like and work together to make a better Harvard! We strive to use our collective power and voice to participate in the academic community at Harvard and beyond, make the academic career path one anyone can afford to pursue, and strengthen the research and teaching objectives of the University. We encourage all research and teaching workers in HAW to participate in this process: our union is what we make it! See the links above to get involved, follow the bargaining process, and learn more about what we’re up to.

“I consider it important, indeed urgently necessary, for intellectual workers to get together, both to protect their own economic status and, also, generally speaking, to secure their influence in the political field.”

-Albert Einstein, on why he joined the faculty union at Princeton as a charter member

Join Us for an Upcoming Meeting/Event!

To get more information about how to attend these events, please reach out at harvardacademicworkers@gmail.com!