Active Report — Updated April 1, 2026 — Harvard Security Guard Contract Ratification
What Happened
Timeline of the Ratification Vote
The following is documented by text message records, the ratification flyer, the Tentative Agreement Summary, formal written correspondence with union counsel, and the mass cancellation email from EVP Kevin Brown.
Friday, March 20, 2026
Members notified by text message
Members received a text notifying them of both the upcoming electronic vote and a membership meeting on Saturday March 28. No full contract language was provided at this time or at any subsequent point before the vote opened.
Before voting opened
Members received a flyer and a QR code — not the contract
Members were provided a one-page promotional flyer and a QR code linking to a "Tentative Agreement Summary." Neither document constitutes the full collective bargaining agreement. The flyer contains a factual error: it states the contract requires custodian approval — custodians had already voted separately.
Tuesday, March 24, 2026 · 8:00 AM
Electronic ballot opens
Members received an email and/or text with a link to their electronic ballot. The voting window opened without members having seen the full contract language.
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 · 5:00 PM
Electronic ballot closes — vote complete
The ratification vote closed. Members voted on a contract they had not read.
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Formal contract request submitted to union counsel — no response
A formal written request was submitted to SEIU 32BJ counsel Avita Morgan requesting the full proposed contract text, citing active membership status under the union's own policy. CC'd to the full union leadership chain. No response received.
Friday, March 27, 2026
Press page goes live — elected officials contacted
Outreach completed to five elected officials: Rep. Liz Breadon, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Sal DiDomenico, Rep. Kevin Honan, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley. This press page went live.
Friday, March 27, 2026 · 6:22 PM — Update
Saturday meeting canceled by SEIU 32BJ EVP Kevin Brown
A mass email from Executive Vice President Kevin Brown canceled the March 28 membership meeting, citing a "printer's error." The email also asserted that a membership meeting had already occurred on March 14, 2026 — two days after the tentative agreement was finalized. The March 14 meeting was a general District 615 membership meeting, not a Harvard security contract deliberation session. The only notice was a same-day "reminder" sent by Kevin Brown at 10:08 AM the morning of the meeting. Harvard security officer Aryt Alasti forwarded it to the Harvard Security Officers Google Group at 3:20 PM that afternoon, writing: "I didn't see any previous notification about this meeting." No contract language was distributed in connection with that meeting. The cancellation email was forwarded to reporters at the Boston Globe and New York Times the same evening.
Saturday, March 28, 2026 — Canceled
Membership meeting does not take place
The meeting at 26 West Street, Boston at which members were to learn the results of a contract they had not read was canceled the prior evening. No rescheduled date has been provided to members.
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Harvard Crimson publishes independent corroboration
The Harvard Crimson published "Harvard Security Guards Say Union Did Not Share Full Contract Before Vote," quoting multiple guards on the record confirming they received only a one-page summary before voting. A former bargaining committee member confirmed this departed from prior practice, stating he had personally ensured full contract language was distributed in prior cycles. Several members reported never receiving a ballot at all.
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Formal LMRDA ratification protest filed with 32BJ leadership
A formal protest of the ratification process was filed with SEIU 32BJ leadership under LMRDA Title I, initiating internal remedy exhaustion. Six specific objections were enumerated: failure to provide full contract language before voting; inadequate notice; appointed rather than elected bargaining committee; conditional $500 financial incentive tied to a yes vote; cancellation of the March 28 membership meeting with a mischaracterized justification; and failure to respond to a formal member request for the contract text. A new ratification vote was demanded. No response has been received.
Key Facts
What Members Were and Were Not Given
Not Provided
Full collective bargaining agreement text. Members voted without access to the complete legal language, definitions, enforcement mechanisms, or grievance procedures.
Not Provided
Adequate deliberation time. Members received a Friday evening text for a vote that opened Tuesday morning and closed Wednesday at 5 PM.
Provided Instead
A one-page promotional flyer containing a factual error about custodian approval requirements.
Provided Instead
A QR code linking to a "Tentative Agreement Summary" — a marketing document, not the contract.
"If a majority of members vote 'yes' on this contract, all employees will get a $500 bonus."
Direct quote from the Tentative Agreement Summary — the only document members received in lieu of the full contract
A conditional financial incentive tied directly to a yes vote was embedded in the only document members received before the ballot opened. Members were not given the full contract language against which to evaluate this incentive or any other term.
Committee Process
The bargaining committee was appointed by union leadership — not elected by membership. A first in this unit's history. Every prior cycle used an elected committee.
Reported Conduct
One committee member was reportedly in supervisor training the day after the tentative agreement was announced.
Background
Institutional Context
Harvard security guards are employed by Securitas Security Services, an international contractor, and represented by SEIU Local 32BJ under a joint employer arrangement with Harvard University. The current contract cycle covers approximately 400 guards.
In 2022, Harvard security guards narrowly ratified a contract 122–101 on a second vote, after the first vote failed. Out-of-state union representatives were deployed to canvas for a yes vote during the second round. The resulting contract was signed by a union VP rather than the elected bargaining committee — contrary to every previous contract in the unit's history.
The NLRB previously issued a formal complaint against both Harvard and Securitas as joint employers for retaliating against guard Walter Terzano, 81, following a protest he organized in 2022. That case was covered by the New York Times and settled in January 2024.
A structural conflict exists under NLRA Section 9(b)(3): SEIU 32BJ represents both guards and custodians in the same local at Harvard. This gives Harvard the ability to challenge the unit structure — creating institutional pressure on the union not to advocate aggressively for guards. As recently as summer 2025, Harvard custodians mounted a decertification effort, citing inadequate representation.
Every prior contract cycle in this unit's history — including contracts negotiated during the COVID-19 pandemic — included two or more general membership meetings at which members could ask questions and deliberate before voting. The 2026 ratification featured no pre-vote membership meeting of any kind. Members voted on March 24–25; the sole meeting was scheduled for March 28, after the ballot had already closed. That meeting was then canceled.
On February 19, 2026, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley and state Rep. Marjorie Decker attended a rally outside a Harvard Square building where custodian contract negotiations were resuming. Both were denied entry to the negotiating session by Harvard management — a pattern of institutional exclusion that now extends to the security guard ratification process.
Documentation
Available Documents
The following documents are available upon request to credentialed press. Contact tips@huguards.org.
PDF
Ratification Flyer — SEIU 32BJ / Securitas at Harvard
Contains factual error stating custodian approval is required — custodians already voted separately
Email
Formal Contract Request to Avita Morgan — March 25, 2026
Timestamped; CC'd to full union leadership chain; no response received
Email
Meeting Cancellation — Kevin Brown, EVP SEIU 32BJ — March 27, 2026 · 6:22 PM
Mass email to members canceling March 28 meeting; cites "printer's error"; asserts March 14 meeting had already occurred
Email
Same-Day Meeting Notice — Kevin Brown, EVP SEIU 32BJ — March 14, 2026 · 10:08 AM
Day-of "reminder" for a general District 615 meeting; no prior notice issued to Harvard security officers; forwarded to the Harvard Security Officers Google Group by Aryt Alasti, who noted she had received no advance notification
Press
Harvard Crimson — "Harvard Security Guards Say Union Did Not Share Full Contract Before Vote" — March 31, 2026
Independent press corroboration; multiple guards quoted on record; former bargaining committee member confirms departure from prior practice. Read the article →
Legal
Formal LMRDA Ratification Protest — Filed with SEIU 32BJ Leadership — March 31, 2026
Six-count protest initiating internal remedy exhaustion under 29 U.S.C. § 482; demands new ratification vote; no response received as of April 1, 2026
