After continued threats to strike, though, Harvard returned with a "take it or leave it" offer that the union negotiating committee unanimously endorsed.
Union officials said they attribute much of their success to the efforts of the Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) for Harvard workers. As a result of the PSLM sit-in and union negotiations, they said, fewer workers will be paid less than a living wage.
The benefits of the new contract extend to workers in the Science Center's Greenhouse Café, like Henry Rodrigues.
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"I no longer feel like a poor worker," Rodrigues said. "I think it's terrific, though they could have given us a little more."