As you likely saw in Deans Hoekstra and Petrofsky’s recent messages, FAS administrators and HR representatives should have notified the vast majority of affected staff about any job changes or layoffs by the end of the day on Thursday, August 13.

In many cases, HUCTW leaders were able to negotiate for members who had been put forward for layoffs to be offered alternative jobs. In other cases, we negotiated for members who were being offered a new job to also be given the option of a layoff at the same time so that members didn’t feel forced into a job they did not want. We also fought for members who were offered jobs below their current grade to be able to keep their salaries at the same level as their current salary. HUCTW leaders were able to save many staff from layoffs and provide others with more options than they would otherwise have, but ultimately FAS administrators are still moving forward with significant number of job eliminations.

When FAS administrators move forward with a proposed layoff, school administrators and HR representatives have the right to notify each affected member first, but an HUCTW organizer/representative will reach out as soon as possible afterward to explain the next steps, discuss the HUCTW Work Security Program, and talk about how HUCTW will support them throughout that process. Likewise, if members are offered the choice between accepting a different position or taking a layoff, an HUCTW organizer will contact them very soon after they are notified to discuss their options and the support HUCTW will provide. There will soon be a significant number of new FAS jobs posted and we will be working with laid off staff, HR offices, and departments to get as many of those laid off individuals hired into new FAS roles as possible.

Even if you do not fall into these categories above, please don’t hesitate to contact us at huctw.info@huctw.org if you would like to meet or speak with an organizer. We know many staff who have been offered jobs are concerned about workload and changes to duties and we can help you with these concerns. All discussions with your HUCTW organizer are confidential.

HUCTW Layoff Consultation Process

As a reminder, before any proposed layoff can move forward, administrators are required to participate in a detailed consultation process with HUCTW regarding each affected employee. This process requires administrators to account for the decisions they are proposing: the financial and structural justification for the change, why one member was selected rather than another, what will become of the work that person currently performs and who will be responsible for it, and what alternatives to eliminating the position were considered.

A central question in these consultations is whether the work itself is actually going away or whether it will simply be redistributed among fewer employees. When work is being reassigned, we challenge administrators to demonstrate how already-busy staff can reasonably take on additional responsibilities without creating unsustainable workloads, reducing the quality of services provided to students and faculty, or putting employees in positions where they cannot reasonably succeed.

Above all, we insist that administrators seriously consider every available alternative to job loss. That includes preserving positions where possible, developing new or modified roles, identifying other open positions for affected employees within their department, elsewhere in FAS, or across Harvard, offering voluntary layoffs, and considering other solutions that could keep members employed. You can read more about the contractually mandated layoff consultation process on our website.

Four-Day Return-to-Campus Proposal

As many of you have heard through coworkers or supervisors or even as a part of your new job descriptions in some cases, FAS administrators are proposing that staff in academic departments who regularly interact with students and faculty be required to work on campus four days a week when classes are in session. They also propose that there will be an exceptions process, but that the general expectation is that staff who interact with students and faculty frequently will be required to be on campus four days a week. We have not yet begun negotiations with administrators about this proposed change, but those discussions will likely begin soon. Please note that this is a separate proposal from the 5-day-a-week on-campus requirement being put forward in the College—this is a 4-day-a-week on-campus requirement being proposed for the academic departments.

As we have noted before, HUCTW still strongly opposes any broad on-campus mandate for staff. Decisions like this should be made by the people who understand the work—staff and their managers together—not through sweeping administrative directives that restrict hybrid work across an entire school or department without regard for the realities of individual jobs. Staff, managers, and department administrators have built relationships with the students and faculty they support, understand how their communities use departmental services, and are best positioned to develop thoughtful, practical solutions that respond to the needs of those communities.

Broad mandates like the one proposed undermine morale, reduce flexibility, workplace diversity, and make it harder—not easier—for departments to serve students and faculty effectively and efficiently. They also violate our contract if they result in reasonable requests for hybrid or remote work being denied.

We have made and will continue to make our opposition to this proposal clear in our discussions with FAS and HR, and we will vigorously advocate for members, both collectively and individually, whose hybrid work arrangements are threatened. We will also work with any member who feels their request for hybrid work has been unreasonably denied, including supporting members in challenging those decisions through our contractual grievance-resolution process, called Problem-Solving.

Again, please don’t hesitate to contact us at huctw.info@huctw.org if you would like to meet or speak with an organizer. All discussions with HUCTW organizers are confidential.