After more than three years of negotiating their first contract since they unionized, 150 full-time lecturers are expected to strike at Howard University beginning this Wednesday. Unless an agreement is reached in the coming days, they will strike alongside almost two hundred adjunct professors hoping to secure their second contract.

Established not long after the end of the Civil War, Howard University is widely regarded as the nation’s top historically black college or university (HBCU). Its rich intellectual history attracts accomplished academics from around the world. Unfortunately, according to strike-ready faculty, Howard also has a history of underpaying and arbitrarily terminating nontenured professors.

In speaking with several faculty represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 500, it’s clear they cherish the institution and enjoy their work, which they say makes this labor conflict particularly excruciating — and necessary. The roughly 350 strike-ready Howard professors are asking for higher compensation and better job security, with opportunities to remain at Howard long-term.