On Monday morning, hundreds of custodians holding purple 32BJ SEIU “Harvard On Strike” signs walked off the job, marching through Harvard Yard in Cambridge and demanding fair wage increases.

The strike began Monday at 10 a.m., with a large cohort of custodians directly employed by Harvard who maintain dorms, classrooms, administrative buildings, and other facilities at the university.

The strike will continue with two more cleaning units that Harvard contracts — C&W Services and ABM Industries. The strikes will begin at 10 p.m. on Monday and the next at noon on Tuesday.

The three units include over 800 custodians at Harvard who are members of 32BJ, the Service Employees International Union.

In a press release, SEIU said the need for action became clear Thursday evening, when 30 members

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