In today’s news and commentary, Harvard dining workers authorize a strike, New York City bans horse carriages in Central Park despite union opposition, and nurses at a Brooklyn hospital rally for a colleague they say was suspended for union organizing.

On Tuesday, 89 percent of Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) workers voted to authorize a strike. Contract talks between the workers and Harvard began in March, and HUDS staff have been working without a contract since mid-June. The union is advocating for higher wages, affordable healthcare, and income during the summer. While the union has not yet set a strike deadline, now that the bargaining committee is authorized to call a strike, UNITE HERE Local 26 President Carlos Aramayo said that “the clock is ticking a little bit,” as workers have grown impatient with the lack of a new contract. Dining workers have not gone on strike in a decade, with the last strike forcing Harvard to close multiple dining halls and run the rest with minimum staffing. 

On Thursday, the New York City Council voted to ban horse carriages from Central Park starting in 2028. As I reported earlier, the ban is strongly opposed by the union that represents carriage owners and drivers, who vowed to challenge the legislation in court. The union argues that the bill, which directs city officials to create “horse-drawn-cab-industry transition plan” by next spring, offers few details about how the city plans to mitigate the economic fallout of eliminating the industry. Furthermore, union lawyers are challenging the lack of any provision to compensate carriage owners for buying carriage medallions, which cost as much as $400,000 each. City Council Speaker Julie Menin said that with the two-year transition window, city officials will have plenty of time to help carriage workers find new jobs. A spokeswoman for Mayor Mamdani’s administration also noted that they had begun discussions about how to compensate owners for the money spent on medallions. 

Also on Thursday, nurses at Kings County Health Center in New York City held a rally for a nurse practitioner they say was suspended for union organizing. NYC Health + Hospitals alleged that the nurse practitioner, Sarah Dowd, improperly siphoned nurses away from their duties in order to discuss their union. Dowd, who serves as vice president of the hospital’s bargaining unit, disputed that characterization, noting that she was at the hospital in her capacity as a union leader to discuss staffing shortages. In addition to the rally, the New York State Nurses Association, the union representing the nurses, filed a complaint with the state’s Public Employees Relations Board challenging Dowd’s suspension.