SAN JUAN — After a short five-day strike that closed access to most campuses, the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Workers’ Union reached an agreement with the administration that will see workers’ salaries match the archipelago’s minimum wage of $8.50 per hour, rising to $9.50 on July 1.

An hour past midday on Wednesday, February 15, a gaggle of unsatisfied UPR workers —reportedly earning $7.26 per hour— locked the gates to the Rio Piedras campus for about two hours. The action prompted the university to start evacuating students, and the public school’s president, Dr. Luis A. Ferrao, ordered a short academic recess while he negotiated with the workers.

Shortly after the gates closed, students wondered if they would have class in person or if they should show up to school at all. Student organizations, like the General Council of Students of Rio Piedras Campus, stood in solidarity with the striking workers.

Workers closed the gates at nine of the university’s 11 campuses, mostly those where the union enjoys a sizable presence: Río Piedras, Aguadilla, Arecibo, Bayamón, Carolina, Humacao, Ponce, Utuado, and Ciencias Médicas, the medical campus in San Juan.

About a fourth of the university’s workers, mostly from the department of cleaning and maintenance, earn $7.26 per hour. They had been clamoring for an increase since 2017.

The agreement reached with the administration will lead to a $9.50-per-hour increase beginning on July 1, said David Muñoz Hernández, leader of the...

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