Harvard Security Guards Ratify New Contract, Secure $4 Wage Increase

Security guards at Harvard ratified a new contract last Thursday, locking in wage increases and preserving their existing health benefits after months of negotiations with third-party contractor Securitas Security Services.

The contract was overwhelmingly approved by members of Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, which represents nearly 300 guards across Harvard’s campus. Guards had 48 hours to cast ballots through an electronic voting platform — voting took place Tuesday and Wednesday, roughly ten days after a tentative agreement was reached on March 12.

The four-year deal delivers around a $4-per-hour raise, bringing wages from roughly $26 to over $30 — an about 15.5 percent increase. Guards will also receive a $500 bonus. Wages vary across four officer classifications based on completed training, with a roughly $3 spread between the lowest and highest tiers.

Kevin Brown, Executive Vice President of 32BJ SEIU, said the union entered bargaining with three central objectives: winning above-inflation wages to recover ground lost during the Covid-19 pandemic, protecting affordable healthcare, and strengthening protections for immigrant members.

“We’re very proud that we were able to achieve our goals,” he said. “Bargaining took a little while longer than we would have liked, but in the end, the outcome was really great, and the officers feel very happy and grateful.”

The contract also includes improved immigration job-security language, strengthened protections against workplace harassment, a better third-shift differential, and a new provision requiring Securitas to work with Harvard to provide private prayer rooms for Muslim members.

Brown said both the harassment and prayer accommodation provisions will require active enforcement.

“We want to make sure that Securitas management, all management, understands the impact,” he said.

The maintained healthcare plan — identical to the arrangement covering unionized Harvard custodians — allows members to opt into the union’s coverage rather than the University’s employer-supplied plan. Harvard does not directly employ the security guards, and the negotiations were conducted exclusively with Securitas.

The security officers’ previous contract expired last November — the same day contracts lapsed for more than 800 Harvard custodians also represented by 32BJ. For the next three and a half months, security guards showed up to rallies in support of their custodian colleagues, who ratified their own four-year agreement earlier this month.

Because guards are spread across posts throughout Harvard’s campus, the union relied primarily on email and text messages to reach members — sending a summary of the tentative agreement and instructions to vote.

“It’s really electronic — it’s the only way we can really communicate with people,” Brown said.

Brown credited faculty, students, and fellow campus unions for their support throughout the campaign.

“We will continue to support all of the workers at Harvard through the campus so that it’s a just and safe place for a worker to work and to thrive,” he said.

—Staff writer Taylor M. Bierwerth can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @tmbierwerth.