The Brotherhood of Exempt Non-Teaching Employees (Heend) of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) warned on Tuesday that it will activate its strike vote if university administrators do not act to put into effect its 2024 collective bargaining agreement and its Classification and Compensation Plan. Heend president Hilda Torres Guzmán accused the administration of UPR president Zayira Jordán Conde, the Financial Oversight and Management Board (JSF) and the Office of Management and Budget (OGP) of shifting blame while failing to implement employment terms for more than 3,000 workers.
She said authorities have spent two and a half years delaying a contract that was negotiated, approved and signed. The strike vote was approved by an overwhelming majority at the September 25 assembly. Torres Guzmán gave no deadline; vice president Jorge Rodríguez Echegaray said the board is weighing the government’s response day by day.
Workers held demonstrations at all 11 campuses on October 7. Jordán Conde said she wrote to the Oversight Board, arguing approval rests with that body. the Oversight Board executive director Robert F. Mujica replied in an October 8 letter that UPR had not delivered key information, noting the Oversight Board asked on August 17, 2026 for an updated list of active employees and a certification of funds availability for the plan.
The contract expires in May 2027. Torres Guzmán demanded intervention from Governor Jenniffer González, saying a letter and a meeting request went unanswered. A UPR Central Administration reaction could not be obtained immediately.