On Wednesday, April 18 and Thursday, April 19, 2018, Harvard students in certain research and teaching positions will go to the polls to vote on whether they wish to be represented by the HGSU-UAW for the purposes of collective bargaining.
The election will be organized and overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB. The University encourages all voters to investigate the issues, consider whether unionization is in the best interest of Harvard students, and, above all, go to the polls and vote.
Where can I learn more about the issues?
If you want to know more about the issues surrounding unionization, you can read student perspectives on both sides, including the Harvard Graduate Students Union–United Auto Workers and associated Facebook page, Graduate Student Unionization: A Critical Approach, and the Against HGSU-UAW Facebook page. Information is also available in The Issues section on the Office of the Provost’s Student Vote website.
Where will I vote?
Voting will take place in three locations:
Cambridge
Wednesday and Thursday, April 18 and 19
Queen’s Head Pub, Memorial Hall, Lower Level
10:00 am–2:30 pm
& 4:30–8:00 pm
Longwood
Wednesday and Thursday, April 18 and 19
Research & Education Building (REB), Room 106, Harvard School of Dental Medicine
10:00 am–2:30 pm
& 4:30–8:00 pm
Allston
Thursday, April 19 only
Batten Hall, Room 150
Harvard Business School
10:00 am–2:00 pm
If you are on the list of eligible voters, you will receive an e-mail from Paul Curran, director of labor and employee relations, which will include your assigned location. Locations have been assigned based on students’ degree program. Voting at your assigned location should be a quick process, as described below. Please note, however, that although eligible students should vote at their assigned location, you may vote in the most convenient location, even if it isn’t your assigned location. You should expect some delay if you vote at a location other than your assigned location.
If you vote in a location other than the one you were assigned to, the NLRB agents will normally temporarily hold your ballot “under challenge,” in their terminology. Your ballot will be maintained in a confidential sealed envelope, until they confirm that you are on the voter list and that you have only voted once. Once confirmed, if the NLRB follows its same practice as the previous election, your vote will be counted.
What will voting be like?
When you arrive at your voting location, an NLRB agent will ask for your name and a photo ID and confirm that you are on the voter roll for that location. (Using your Harvard ID will make the process easier). As you check in, Harvard University staff and HGSU-UAW representatives will also be present as election observers.
The NLRB agent will provide you with a paper ballot that contains the question “Do you wish to be represented for purposes of collective bargaining by Harvard Graduate Students Union–United Auto Workers (HGSU-UAW)” and boxes for “Yes” or “No.” There will be table-top voting booths to provide you with a private place to mark your ballot. Mark an “X” in the box of your choice. Do not sign or otherwise mark the ballot or your vote may be voided. You will then be directed to place your completed ballot in a ballot box
What if I’m voting in my assigned location but I’m told my vote is being cast “under challenge?”
Harvard placed you on the voter list because it determined that you hold, or held, a teaching or research position based on the information in the PeopleSoft and Student Information Systems, supplemented by information provided by the Schools. It is possible, however, that the HGSU-UAW may challenge your eligibility as a voter at the polls if it does not believe that you meet the eligibility criteria. If that happens, you will still be allowed to vote, but your vote will be considered “under challenge” and will be kept in a sealed envelope to preserve confidentiality until the challenge is resolved, through the process set out below.
What happens next?
After the polls close, the NLRB agents will seal the ballot boxes and remove them to the NLRB offices. On Friday, April 20, 2018, the NLRB will work with representatives of the University and the HGSU-UAW to review votes cast at locations other than the voter’s assigned location to confirm that each voter only voted once; those ballots will be added to the votes in the ballot box. After confirming the ballots to be counted and those that remain under challenge, the NLRB will unseal the boxes in the presence of representatives of the University and the HGSU-UAW, and they will count the ballots to determine a preliminary tally. The ballot count could take place as soon as April 20, or it could be delayed if there are a substantial number of votes cast by students who were not on the voter list, such as happened in the November 2016 election.
If the difference between “Yes” and “No” votes is greater than the remaining number of challenged votes, the preliminary tally will be finalized and the election result announced. If the difference is less than the remaining challenged votes, as happened in the November 2016 election, the NLRB will hold a hearing to determine whether any of the remaining challenged votes should be counted. At such a hearing, Harvard and the HGSU-UAW would present evidence as to the status of the voter to enable the NLRB to determine eligibility. Again, the confidentiality of the ballots is preserved through this process.
After the hearing closes, the NLRB would consider the evidence and issue a decision. Once final, the ballots found to be eligible would be opened, counted, and added to the preliminary tally, and the final election result would be announced.