Harvard Violated Contract With HGSU in Excluding Some Grad Students, Arbitrator Rules

Harvard violated its 2021 contract with the Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Auto Workers by excluding lab-based psychology Ph.D. students from the union’s bargaining unit, an arbitrator ruled on Friday.

The decision expands the HGSU-UAW bargaining unit by 70 members and forces Harvard to retroactively repay psychology research assistants for “lost benefits and payments” since April 30, 2022, according to a photo of the award posted on X by Steven W. Kasparek, one of the Harvard psychology graduate students who filed the grievance.

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in an emailed statement that the University is “reviewing this decision and considering all options.” Harvard could still decide to appeal the ruling.

According to Kasparek, the University deemed psychology lab work not “similar enough” to the research “hard” science Ph.D. students were doing and pointed to the outside fellowships that already provided financial support for some students.

Kasparek highlighted language in his contract with the University as a counterargument.

“A research assistant is in the union and a research assistant is any full-time PhD student who is conducting research under the supervision of one advisor,” Kasparek said. “That very clearly describes the psychology department’s setup for graduate students.”

“At the end of the day, when there’s a contract with very specific language, that’s what we’re comparing against, not what either side feels is or is not labor,” he added.

Eric Cohn, the HGSU-UAW Grievance Officer for this case, attributed the victory to the large organizing effort from psychology Ph.D. students.

“I think this was really a win that was very much due to engagement of workers in that department who worked really hard on preparing evidence, risking their own names and reputations to appear in arbitration before powerful faculty,” Cohn said.

Despite the apparent win, Kasparek is unsure of the final outcome of the case.

"I don’t know when or if we will actually see any of these changes made, particularly if they decide to appeal and what the decision of that will be," he said.

According to the 2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement, decisions from arbitration “shall be final and binding on the parties, although each side retains whatever rights it has under state or federal law to challenge the decision and award.”

Still, Kasparsen said he believes this decision is “going to create the best environment for psychology students in the future.”

HGSU-UAW President Bailey Plaman said that going forward, the union will be “enforcing the ruling.”

“We have some workers that are owed retroactive access to benefits and back pay,” Plaman said, so the union will be “trying to actually get the University to comply with the ruling.”

—Staff writer Aran Sonnad-Joshi can be reached at aran.sonnad-joshi@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @asonnadjoshi.

—Staff writer Sheerea X. Yu can be reached at sheerea.yu@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @_shuhree_.