'Tentative Agreement' Between Harvard University, Striking Dining Workers: Report

CAMBRIDGE, MA — After nearly a month of protest, striking dining workers appear on the cusp of brokering a deal with Harvard University, with news of a "tentative agreement" reached around 1 a.m. Tuesday.

The Harvard Crimson reports this as "the closest the two parties have come to a contract settlement during months of tense negotiations," but notes the deal is not yet ratified.

The agreement comes after weeks of escalating protests, including a student-led occupation of university buildings Monday and the previous arrest of striking workers who staged a sit-in in the middle of a busy Harvard Square intersection.

UNITE HERE 26, which represents the dining service workers, has been pushing for higher wages and better benefits, while the university has maintained its compensation packages are among the most generous in the region.

The university and the union have been negotiating since this spring without coming to a mutual agreement. The dining workers' strike began on Oct. 5.

Union and university representatives told the Harvard student paper there is still work to be done to finalize the deal, and the dining hall workers could return to the job as soon as Thursday.

>> Read more from The Harvard Crimson here.

Patch will update this story.

Photo courtesy @ylichterman