Dining hall workers at Tufts University voted Thursday to authorize a strike as contract negotiations pass the eight-month mark, according to Unite Here Local 26. If a strike is called, 175 cashiers, dishwashers, grill cooks, bakers, and sous chefs will walk off the job in a fight for higher wages, lower healthcare costs, and better job protections.

Nearly a third of the workers are classified as temps, including one who has been there for 14 years, Local 26 said, and the union is seeking to make them full-time employees, with equal wages and job security.

The dining hall workers joined Local 26 last April and are seeking similar benefits to unionized dining hall workers at MIT, Harvard University, Northeastern University, and several smaller schools.