Duke Workers Speak Out Over Stalled $20 Wage Promise

Image credit: AFSCME

On June 11, AFSCME Local 77 members gathered outside Duke Hospital to demand a $20 minimum wage that Duke announced would take effect in July 2026. The union says Duke is pressuring workers to give up other contractual benefits in exchange for the promised raise. Local 77 has the largest share of sub-$20 earners among unions representing Duke workers, and its membership is primarily Black and brown workers.

Among the concessions Duke is seeking is a policy change that would count weather-related absences against workers. Workers say this provision would put parents in an impossible position when schools close and they need to stay home with their children.

Management is also pushing changes to internal transfer policies that workers say would make it harder to apply for other positions within the university and hospital system. Additionally, Duke is seeking a stricter policy around MLK Day, citing a coding issue. The union describes flexibility around the holiday as a long-established practice.

Local 77 represents 1,100 housekeepers and food service workers at Duke University and Hospital. The union is descended from the Duke Employees Benevolent Society, founded in 1965 by Black labor organizer Oliver Harvey [1].

Duke’s $20 minimum wage promise was part of a package of concessions to the Durham Rising coalition. The campaign’s “Dignified Work” plank called for a $25 minimum wage for Duke workers, along with improved conditions and rights [2].

Image credit: Durham Rising

In April 2025, Local 77 staged protests outside Cameron Stadium and Duke Facilities Management over alleged contract violations [3]. The workers secured a new contract with significant gains in July 2025. The agreement included a $500 ratification bonus, paid parental leave, expanded job tiers, wage scale expansion, union access to employee orientation, and new overtime opportunities. The contract was ratified by almost 95% of voters among the local membership [4].

Duke's graduate workers have also made important strides in recent years. The Duke Graduate Students Union (DGSU) won its NLRB election in August 2023, becoming the first graduate worker union at a private university in the South. The graduate workers secured their first contract in July 2025.

Labor unions representing different segments of the Duke workforce include AFSCME Local 77, DGSU, ATU Local 1328 (bus and van drivers), and the Duke Faculty Union. The Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW) has also played a role in organizing Duke workers [5].

Duke University's endowment stands at $12.3 billion, a figure worth noting as the institution twists the arms of housekeepers and food service workers earning less than a living wage.

Work Cited

1. Shupeck, Lekha. "Durham Rising Confronts Duke's Troubled Labor History." Facing South, 24 Sept. 2025, www.facingsouth.org/2025/09/durham-rising-confronts-dukes-troubled-labor-history.

2. Durham Rising. "Duke: Stand Up to the Attacks from Trump and Washington and Invest in the Community That Always Shows Up for YOU." Action Network, actionnetwork.org/petitions/durhamrisingpetition. Accessed 15 June 2026.

3. Durham Dispatch. "New Coalition Called 'Durham Rising' Holds Town Hall, Makes Broad Demands of Duke University." Durham Dispatch, 16 May 2025, www.durhamdispatch.com/post/new-coalition-durham-rising-holds-town-hall-makes-broad-demands-of-duke-university.

4. Asefaw, Selina. "Duke University Workers Hold the Line and Win." AFSCME, 6 Aug. 2025, www.afscme.org/blog/duke-university-workers-hold-the-line-and-win.

5. "Chronquiry: How Are Labor Movements Faring in the Least Unionized State?" The Duke Chronicle, 17 July 2025, www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke-university-unions-in-north-carolina-labor-movements-lowest-membership-amazon-garner-durham-educators-20250717.