Harvard Dining Workers Vote 89% to Authorize First Strike Since 2016

Harvard University Dining Services workers voted Tuesday, Oct. 21, to authorize a strike, opening the door to the first Harvard dining hall walkout since 2016. Eighty-nine percent of workers who cast ballots backed the authorization, with 548 votes in favor, 67 against and two ballots spoiled, according to the union, The Harvard Crimson reported.

The vote does not start a strike. It gives the bargaining committee of UNITE HERE Local 26, the Boston hospitality union that represents the workers, the power to call one at any time. No deadline had been set as of Wednesday.

Months without a contract

The dining workers’ last contract expired June 19, and they have worked the entire fall semester without one. Talks began in March, and the two sides have held seven bargaining sessions, according to the Crimson. The Boston Globe put the number of dining workers without a contract at more than 800.

“I do think the clock is ticking a little bit here,” Aramayo told the Crimson in its report on the vote. “Folks have been working without a contract now for the entire semester, and I think there’s an impatience that we should be really getting to a serious conversation.”

Wages, health care and summer income

The union lists three main demands: higher wages, affordable health care, and income during the summer. Many dining workers are out of work in the summer when students leave campus but cannot collect state unemployment benefits.

According to the union, Harvard dining wages trail those at other area schools. The Globe reported that Northeastern University dining workers earn roughly a dollar more per hour, and that MIT also pays more.

Health care costs are a central point of contention. At a September rally outside the Smith Campus Center, pantry steward Anabela Pappas said HUDS employees already pay more for coverage than dining workers at any other Boston university, and that Harvard’s latest proposal would raise those costs further.

Harvard’s position

In a statement to the Globe, Harvard called the authorization vote “unwarranted.” The university is offering an 18.7 percent wage increase spread over six years. “Harvard remains committed to reaching agreement on a contract that is beneficial to all,” spokesperson Jason Newton wrote.

The vote came about a week after Harvard released its annual financial report, which showed a 27.1 percent endowment return and a $100 million operating surplus, according to the Harvard Gazette.

Lessons from the 2016 strike

HUDS workers last struck in October 2016, staying off the job for 22 days. That walkout forced Harvard to close several dining halls, while the rest operated with skeleton crews of managers, reassigned staff and temporary hires. The contract that followed preserved the health plan the union won in that strike.

“Today, these workers are ready to do that again,” Aramayo said. “They’re ready to walk out again and to fight for again modest demands for what they need and what they deserve, fair wages, health care, and some way to get through the summer.”

Student support

More than 1,000 Harvard College students have signed a petition calling on the university to reach a fair contract with dining workers, according to the Crimson. The petition was organized by the Student Labor Action Movement, a Phillips Brooks House Association program.

Other details

The previous contract, ratified in 2021, raised wages by 2.75 to 3.25 percent a year, about 15 percent over the deal, and raised the summer stipend for workers laid off during summer break from $3,000 to $3,800, the Crimson reported. Harvard also faces a possible graduate worker strike starting Oct. 27; see our report on the Harvard graduate student union strike deadline. For more on Cambridge, see our guide to Cambridge resident parking permits for 2027.

Sources

• The Harvard Crimson: 89 Percent of Harvard Dining Workers Authorize Strike, Paving Way for Walkout (Oct. 21, 2026)
• The Boston Globe: Harvard dining workers authorize strike as school endowment surges (Oct. 21, 2026)
• The Harvard Crimson: More Than 1,000 Students Sign Petition Backing Dining Hall Workers (Oct. 15, 2026)
• Harvard Gazette: ‘Our focus has been on resiliency’ (Oct. 15, 2026)