BU Graduate Students Are Set to Strike over Benefits and Pay
University officials say their offers balance the needs of students with what’s reasonable compared to peer institutions; students prioritize, “a living wage, workload protections, and stronger health care, child care, and family leave benefits.”
Photo by Above Summit
BU Graduate Students Are Set to Strike over Benefits and Pay
University officials say their offers balance the needs of students with what’s reasonable compared to peer institutions; students prioritize “a living wage, workload protections, and stronger health care, child care, and family leave benefits.”
The Boston University Graduate Workers Union (BUGWU), a collection of more than 3,000 master’s, professional, and PhD graduate students, could strike as soon as next week as negotiations with BU officials, mostly over pay and benefits, have failed to reach an agreement on a new contract. The union voted on March 13 to authorize a strike by March 25 if an agreement is not reached by then.
BU officials say they have negotiated in good faith with the BUGWU bargaining unit, meeting with representatives on 15 occasions, including on Monday, but that they have anticipated a strike remains possible and are finalizing plans to ensure continuity of University operations and academic teaching and learning. Daniel Kleinman, BU’s associate provost for graduate affairs, says his team is working closely with BU’s schools and colleges on contingency plans.
Kenneth Lutchen, BU provost ad interim, sent out letters to the BU community as well as to parents and guardians of students on Tuesday updating them on the strike possibility, and says he has reinforced to the faculty that the graduate students are a critical part of the BU community. And, he says, the University is committed to their success at BU and their impact on the broader society. “We need to treat them with empathy and care while ensuring a contract that is competitive and aligned with peer institutions,” Lutchen says.
We have a responsibility to continue the education of all of our students, and a disruption to students’ lectures, seminars, discussions sections, and labs is not acceptable.
Kleinman adds that the University, in its negotiations, must strike a balance between those two competing interests: supporting the needs, concerns, and quality of life for BU graduate students, and at the same time recognizing what the University can reasonably afford and what is reasonable in relation to peer institutions who have entered into similar agreements.
The students in the BU bargaining unit, which includes teaching assistants and teaching fellows, are paid for up to 20 hours of work per week. As students who are also fulfilling course requirements and doing dissertation research, they spend additional time. All PhD students receive free tuition and health benefits for at least five years on the Charles River Campus, while master’s and professional graduate students pay at least some tuition.
Among the offers that BU officials have put on the table, according to Kleinman, are:
- An increase in the 12-month PhD student stipends to $42,159 next year and an overall increase representing 13 percent over three years. BU has also offered a commitment to raising the minimum hourly rate for students paid hourly (from $15 to $18).
- Moving PhD students currently on eight-month stipends to nine-month stipends, which would mean an increase in year one of the contract to $31,619.
- Covering 33 percent of the cost of MBTA passes for 12 months for all BU PhD students and other graduate students in the union.
- Creating a dental insurance plan for all graduate students, for which they would pay the full premium ($452/year), with PhD students receiving a $100 subsidy.
- For full-time PhD students within the five-year funding guarantee, covering the annual cost of dependents that are added to the University’s student health insurance plan for children six years old and under.
- Adding a Graduate Worker Help Fund of $50,000 to help provide needs-based support during times of unforeseen crisis and emergencies and a no-interest loan to help with other financial exigencies for graduate workers who do not qualify for the fund.
The union is part of SEIU 509, the Massachusetts Union for Human Service Workers and Educators. In a letter SEIU sent to its members, it identified “key issues” in the BU bargaining talks: “A living wage, workload protections, and stronger health care, child care, and family leave benefits.” In the letter, SEIU 509 President David Foley said, “Graduate workers play a vital role in contributing to BU’s success and in shaping the experience of students across campus. Their work as teachers, mentors, and researchers is an invaluable part of what keeps the university running. They are sending a clear message to BU: we are prepared to take action to secure a fair agreement that reflects the value of our work and addresses our needs.”
The union and some graduate students have taken to using social media, most notably Instagram, to voice their frustrations over the negotiations. In her post, Meiya Sparks Lin, a graduate student in the English department, wrote, “They still refuse to pay graduate workers enough to live in the city where we work. It’s clear we’ll have to fight for our demands—but I know that when we fight, we win.” In the letter sent to members of the union, Lin was also quoted: “This isn’t just about fair pay; it’s about ensuring that the workers who keep the university running can lead dignified lives without the constant worry of financial instability.”
Members are not required to participate in a strike, and it is unclear how many will actually take part. The union includes students involved in research, instructional, and teaching work, but it’s believed the strike will initially involve those with teaching responsibilities. (Graduate students who perform other types of paid service work for BU and undergraduate students are not included in the unit.)
How long a strike could last is unclear. Recent similar strikes at Tufts, Harvard, and the University of California lasted various lengths, from a few days to several weeks. In some cases, graduate students returned to work while negotiations were allowed to continue, but in others, the graduate students waited for a resolution before returning to their positions.
The two sides met most recently on Monday, but still appear far apart on the issue of pay. BU’s latest offer (the figures represent part-time jobs at 20 hours a week) amounted to a 13 percent increase over three years, starting at $42,159 in year one. The Union has declined to make a counteroffer to that proposal, according to BU officials, and has continued its demand for a 20 hours per week stipend starting at $62,440, which is roughly 50 percent more than current BU stipend levels. BU has requested another bargaining session this week, as well, but it’s unclear if the union will agree.
In a letter Tuesday to BU faculty, Lutchen wrote that the University supports the rights of eligible employees to strike. In that event, he said, “We have a responsibility to continue the education of all of our students, and a disruption to students’ lectures, seminars, discussions sections, and labs is not acceptable.” He said his office has offered to help schools and colleges put in place plans to “mitigate any disruption that a strike could cause, and we depend on you to help us ensure the ongoing education of our students, especially our undergraduates.”
Lutchen said BU’s proposals to the union have addressed “the issues that are most important to them—benefits and compensation, and all in the context of what other institutions have settled on.
“We hope that all of this moves us closer to resolution with BUGWU. Once we reach agreement, we can ensure that the implementation process gets underway quickly for the benefit of our graduate workers and the broader University community.”
Unlike the recent public school teachers strike in Newton, which was an illegal strike, Boston University does not have a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in place with BUGWU, meaning there is no limitation on the graduate students’ right to strike. CBAs that are in effect with BU’s other unions (including its salaried lecturers) contain no strike/no lockout provisions, barring those members from striking.
Because BUGWU members are both workers and students, they are considered students first, and therefore are encouraged to continue their academic responsibilities even while participating in the strike. However, the University can withhold their compensation if they strike, and whether any work can be made up after the strike ends will depend on the length of the strike.
How the impact of the strike will be felt inside classrooms is being worked out, according to BU officials. And some of that planning will require solutions for both a short strike and a longer one. For example, if graduate students are not available, faculty will need to create a plan to continue to teach lab or discussion sections or hold office hours.
This Frequently Asked Questions link includes more detailed information on the strike, its impact, and next steps for the University.
Among the offers that BU officials have put on the table, according to Kleinman, are:
-An increase in the 12-month PhD student stipends to $42,159 next year and an overall increase representing 13 percent over three years. BU has also offered a commitment to raising the minimum hourly rate for students paid hourly (from $15 to $18).
-Moving PhD students currently on eight-month stipends to nine-month stipends, which would mean an increase in year one of the contract to $31,619.
-Covering 33 percent of the cost of MBTA passes for 12 months for all BU PhD students and other graduate students in the union.
-Creating a dental insurance plan for all graduate students, for which they would pay the full premium ($452/year), with PhD students receiving a $100 subsidy.
-For full-time PhD students within the five-year funding guarantee, covering the annual cost of dependents that are added to the University’s student health insurance plan for children six years old and under.
-Adding a Graduate Worker Help Fund of $50,000 to help provide needs-based support during times of unforeseen crisis and emergencies and a no-interest loan to help with other financial exigencies for graduate workers who do not qualify for the fund.
The University has provided schools and colleges with contingency planning documents so they can determine how best to continue their operations and maintain their teaching and research missions. Each department and program will have the flexibility of developing the operational plans that work best for them and their students, but the University is requiring that all classes, teaching, and research continue uninterrupted.
As for international graduate students, nothing prohibits them from participating in a strike, even if they are on F-1 or J-1 visas, according to guidelines from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Their visas are dependent on their enrollment as a student, which is not affected by a strike. “F-1 nonimmigrant status does not require visa holders to cross the picket line,” ICE says. (BU students who are concerned about their visa status should check in with the International Students & Scholars Office.)
Judi Burgess, BU’s executive director of employee and labor relations, says that despite the differences between the two sides, she remains hopeful that “through collaboration and partnership, we can find mutual agreement and understanding.” BU has bargained in good faith throughout the process, she says, and the union could have initiated talks sooner, since its election was held six months earlier.
“There have been numerous sessions over these past several months and the ball has been mostly in the union’s court,” Burgess says. “The University has offered several management proposals and will be offering economic counterproposals during our next bargaining session. This is a massively large union with divergent interests and populations, so the bargaining is complex.”
Adding to the complexity, Burgess says, is that this is the first such contract for this union. “First contracts typically take anywhere from a year or longer to bargain,” she says.
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