Frequently Asked Questions

BUGWU includes all graduate student workers (master’s, professional, and PhD students) who engage in research, instructional, or teaching work on behalf of the University. Non-service graduate students, graduate students performing other types of paid service work, and undergraduate students are not included in the unit.

Boston University’s negotiations team, made up of faculty and staff from Labor Relations, the Office of the Provost, the Office of General Counsel, and the College of Arts & Sciences, has met with the Boston University Graduate Workers Union (BUGWU) for 24 sessions since July 2023.  The most recent bargaining session was on Wednesday, May 8, 2024.

Collective bargaining agreements are long and frequently complex documents that often contain 30 or more articles. As the parties are starting from “scratch,” it is common for first contracts to take over 400 days to reach an agreement. However, the University believes that it continues to make valuable offers to the union that will, hopefully, expedite the typically lengthy process.

Yes.  The University believes that all are best served by reaching an agreement, and that has been our goal from the very beginning.  BU’s proposals have included:

• A significant increase in PhD stipends that puts BU in alignment with our local peers, representing a 13% increase over three years over the University’s minimum, with a 7% increase occurring in year one.
• All PhD students on stipends will be guaranteed at least nine months of support, defined by the BU academic calendar. This means that students who had previously received eight months of funding will receive an additional month of stipend support. This, combined with the 7% increase ,represents a 12% increase from the prior eight-month minimum stipend level for the 2023-2024 academic year.
• A 20% increase to the minimum hourly rate for graduate student worker wages.
• A 67% increase in childcare subsidy support and a significant expansion of the childcare subsidy fund.
• A 33% MBTA subsidy year-round for all graduate student workers for commuting expenses.
• A large-scale dedicated $50,000 Graduate Student Workers Help Fund to assist graduate students who are experiencing personal crisis, whether related to healthcare, housing, family emergencies, disability-related urgent access needs, or other difficult, unplanned life events.  The University has also offered a no interest loan to help Graduate Workers with other financial exigencies who do not qualify for the Help Fund.
• For PhD students, covering the annual cost of adding dependents six-years old or under to be covered by student health insurance plan (SHIP) plan.
• A dental plan for all graduate student workers , as well as a $100 subsidy for each PhD student who participates. SHIP currently provides coverage for an annual eye examination and discounts for eyewear, lenses, and other vision care products.

Absolutely not. Specific inclusions that the union has requested, including gender reassignment and gender affirming surgical procedures, tracheal shaving, electrolysis, voice and communication therapy, and chest binders, are all covered within BU’s existing student health insurance plan (SHIP).

Other proposals the University has presented include:

• Providing transitional assistance and other support to doctoral students whose relationship with an academic advisor or primary mentor is unhealthy.
• Recognizing that graduate student workers carry both academic and work-related responsibilities through the codification of workload limitations – including a procedure for enabling a graduate student worker to seek desired or necessary adjustments.
• Expanding professional development grants to all graduate students, and no longer just PhD students.

Performance evaluations for our graduate student workers so they can be assured of receiving feedback and better support.

The goal of negotiation is to reach a fair agreement that balances the needs of BU students and the recognition that the University has to serve an entire community — this will require compromises from BUGWU and from the University.  While we acknowledge we are not there yet, we believe we are on course to reach an agreement that will better support graduate student workers, who are important contributors to the BU community.

BUGWU has described their plans for an indefinite strike. Recent graduate worker strikes have ranged from a few days to several months. Some, like at the University of California, ended only after an agreement on a CBA was reached. At Harvard University, however, the strike ended prior to that. No matter the duration, we remain committed to our students and to ensuring that they continue to receive the highest-quality education possible.

No. The decision about whether to strike is a personal decision, and some BUGWU workers may choose to continue to work throughout the strike.

Yes. Striking does not relieve a student worker of their academic obligations, and we hope these individuals will still choose to participate fully in their academic responsibilities, such as attending classes or advancing their dissertation research. They are our students first. We are dedicated to ensuring they receive an excellent education at BU and we fully support and encourage their continued engagement in their education.

No. However, a striking employee who engages in unlawful strike activity or misconduct that violates our University policies (disruptions such as blocking access, interrupting or stalling the operations of classes or University business, or engaging in violent or threatening behavior) can be disciplined or even dismissed from the University, depending on the conduct and its severity.

No. Our graduate student workers have the right to strike, but the University has a legal right to withhold compensation from striking employees for the days they are on strike. In addition, BU must appropriately account for employee compensation. Faculty supervisors and/or individual principal investigators (PIs) are responsible for certifying effort and ensuring appropriate charges, especially for federally sponsored awards, which are subject to regulations.

The answer will likely depend on the length of the strike. No one should presume that such opportunities will exist or that they will be made available.

Each time you are paid, in accordance with tax regulations, your earnings are projected across a 52-week period to project what your earnings would be for a year. That total is then used to determine where your income would fall into the overall tax table to determine the rate at which you should be taxed. Since your earnings in the week’s pay was greater than the amount you received previously, your earnings projected into a higher tax bracket which means a higher percentage of tax was withheld.

When students file their taxes the next calendar year, it is possible to receive a portion of these earnings back.

According to guidelines from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), nothing prohibits international students from participating in a strike, even if they are on F-1 or J-1 visas. Their visas are dependent on their enrollment as a student, which is not affected by a strike. BU students who are concerned about their visa status should check in with the International Students & Scholars Office.

We remain dedicated to our students, their educational experiences, and their continued success at BU. Please visit our Support & Resources section for counseling assistance, mentoring services, and other help.

We know this can be a difficult experience to navigate for supervisors, professors, and others who interact with affected students. If you’re seeking assistance or guidance, please visit our Support & Resources section.

All faculty have been asked to develop contingency plan in the event of a strike. The administration is prepared to help you develop and resource such a plan. Alternatively, a faculty can develop the plan on their own.

No. Also, you may not ask to what extent other BUGWU members may support—or not support—a strike. You must also avoid language that could be perceived as retaliatory in response to a potential strike. The students have a right to strike, and we cannot retaliate against them for exercising this right.

If a BUGWU member volunteers information, you may listen. You are permitted to share this information with others who have a legitimate basis for having it. However, you should not seek to delve or inquire further.

No. As a supervisor, you are not permitted to coerce or pressure a student worker. This includes the following:

• Promises intended to induce someone not to strike.
• Statements that could be perceived as a threat.
• Comments that could be construed as suggesting that they may be retaliated against in some way in the future (such as a loss of support or funding, or that their ability to receive an employment reference could be compromised).

Also, you should not indicate that you support—or do not support—the requests the union is making at the bargaining table. Here, again, it is best to express no opinion.

You can relate any/all of the following:

• It is BU’s hope that an agreement can be reached without a strike.
• The University will continue to bargain in good faith.
• The decision about whether to participate in the strike is a personal one.
• You hope that they will continue to engage academically.

You may also have conversations on continuity of research and teaching operations and expectations related to a student’s academic progress. You can ask students to share protocols, access to course materials or documents, or anything you need to know to maintain continuity of operations. You can also communicate specific expectations around academic progress; this may be important in schools/colleges where teaching is an educational requirement and connected to for-credit coursework.

If substantiated, this would be viewed as fraud, with likely serious consequences to follow, including recovery of the lost wages, plus damages or possible discipline.

As noted earlier, a strike does not relieve students of their academic obligations. All students, including members of BUGWU, are expected to continue to attend classes, meet course expectations, and, in all other respects, make satisfactory academic progress.

• Salaried Full-Time Lecturers:
  Their CBA prohibits them from striking.
• Part-Time Lecturers:
  The University is currently deep in negotiations with them on a contract to replace the one that expired on November 1, 2023. As they are currently working without a contract, they are not legally prohibited from engaging in a strike.
• Service, Technical, and Clerical Staff:
  Staff who are represented by Local 2324 have a contract in place that prohibits them from striking.
• Facilities Staff:
  Staff that are represented by Local 32BJ have a contract in place that prohibits them from striking.
• Non-unionized, Non-supervisory Staff:
  Non-unionized, non-supervisory staff are not legally barred from striking and may do so without coercion or retaliation.
• Other BU Faculty and Staff with Managerial or Supervisory Responsibilities (including Tenure-Track Faculty):
  These individuals are not generally covered by the National Labor Relations Act, the law that defines and regulates the relationship between unions and employers. As such, they do not have a legal right to participate in a strike.

If you believe that a person in your department is failing to report for duty or is withholding their labor to show support for BUGWU, please advise your Human Resources Business Partner as soon as possible.

Yes. Those who opt not to participate in the job action may be offered additional or different work in addition to their current work duties. Please bear in mind that international students are not legally permitted to work more than 20 hours in a week.

Yes. Should you choose to do so, you should take into consideration issues involving workload and additional compensation. We have created guidelines for continuity-of-operations payments that departments can refer to when compensating community members who pitch in to help. Your Human Resources Business Partner may also be a resource to you.

We have created continuity-of-operations templates for PIs to help them plan their work. There will likely not be a one-size-fits-all solution. Larger research groups may be able to reassign work to other personnel, while others may need to hire replacement personnel or develop work rotations with neighboring groups (for example, that may share joint equipment or samples).

It is important to ensure that laboratory records and notebooks are up to date, that PIs know where all data and pertinent research information is stored, and that students mentored by BUGWU members are assigned alternative or secondary mentors.

PIs with concerns about impacts to their research operations should share them with the associate dean for research within their school/college.

The law in Massachusetts requires that replacement workers are solicited in a particular manner. Here is what you should say:

“Our department is developing continuity-of-operations plans focused on teaching and research. Part of that process involves identifying members of our community who are willing and qualified to teach if instructional personnel are unavailable due to a strike. This work will be compensated at an appropriate level for each substitute. Given your expertise in xxxx, would you be willing to be listed as a substitute for the following courses? [list of course numbers]”

Your department may also develop a survey that could be distributed to former alumni or staff within the department.

We understand and support the importance of the relationships and collaborations between our graduate students and our faculty. It is possible to support our graduate students and still plan for what to do to allow all students to continue their academic progress in the face of strike action. This is what we are asking faculty to do.

Principal investigators (PIs) who certify Personal Activity Reports (PARs) should not certify these reports unless they are confident the reports are accurate. If salaries are incorrectly charged to grants, the PI has up to 90 days to request that the charges be transferred to an appropriate departmental account.

Yes.  We have an obligation to pay students appropriately for their effort.  Principal investigators or the students’ supervisors can attest for student workers for any missed payroll periods through this form.

No. Students on training grants or individually federally funded fellowships receive their stipends on a non-service basis. The stipends of these students are not in exchange for direct work but are dependent on them remaining in good academic standing within their graduate program and participating in required elements of the training program.

No classes should be cancelled. Should you learn that a class meeting is cancelled, please go to the Support and Resources page (scroll down to the end of the first section) and be in touch with the appropriate school/college contact.

We do not want the learning of our students to be interrupted by the strike. You should attend all class sessions.

The graduate students have the right to strike and to picket or demonstrate peacefully. These activities are lawful, and BU will not retaliate against any student engaging in lawful strike activity.

BU is actively engaged in contract negotiations with the graduate students, and our students’ decisions to attend or not attend class will have no impact on those negotiations.

Students have the right to continue their education during this time. While the students have the right to strike, the University has the right to maintain teaching and learning activities during the strike period. You, as a student, remain responsible for your academic progress, and failing to attend class can have repercussions.

You should assume your class will meet as scheduled. Should you learn of a cancelled class, please go to the Support and Resources page (scroll down to the end of the first section) and be in touch with the appropriate school/college contact.

Should you arrive to class and find that the class is not meeting, please go to the Support and Resources page (scroll down to the end of the first section) and be in touch with the appropriate school/college contact.

Please go to the Support and Resources page (scroll down to the end of the first section) and be in touch with the appropriate school/college contact.

We expect few cancelled classes, discussion sections, or labs given that many graduate workers have chosen not to join the strike and to continue to work during this time, as is their right. We are working with all faculty to ensure that any cancelled class, discussion section, or lab is made up in a way that allows access to all enrolled students.

We expect grades to be assigned in the normal manner. Should adjustments be required, you will learn about the process through your instructor.

The University has an obligation to continue its academic operations and mission during the strike period, and it seeks to do so with as little disruption to students’ learning objectives as possible – in part by hiring workers to cover the strikers’ teaching duties during this time.

Union members have a right under the National Labor Relations Act to strike and withhold their labor from the University. Equally, the University has the legal right under federal labor law to hire workers to cover the strikers’ job duties during the strike period.

You are responsible for your own actions. Boston University and your course instructors cannot prevent you from taking action in support of the graduate student union, as long as your behavior is consistent with BU’s student conduct code. However, failure to fulfill academic requirements—whether or not this failure is a sign of solidarity—will likely have consequences for your course grades.

The Incomplete (“I”) grade will only be used for individual students who have exceptional circumstances, in accordance with the Incomplete Coursework Policy. The instructor and student must agree to the nature of the work and a date (within one year) by which that work will be completed to meet course requirements, and both are required to sign the Incomplete Grade Agreement.

Parents should feel free to contact the University provost at provost@bu.edu.

The Incomplete (I) grade may be used only for individual students in accordance with the Incomplete Coursework Policy. As the policy states, the instructor and student must agree to the nature of the work and a date (within one year) by which that work will be completed to meet course requirements, and both are required to sign the Incomplete Grade Agreement. Faculty/course instructors may not issue blanket ‘Incompletes’ in lieu of class grading.

Faculty/course instructors may not issue blanket pass/fails in lieu of class grading.

Timely submission of grades is an essential function of all faculty positions. More specifically, our full-time represented faculty are prohibited from withholding or delaying any grades under Article 19, Section 1 of their collective bargaining agreement with Boston University. Failure of non-represented faculty to submit grades in a timely way may be considered gross neglect of duty under the Faculty Handbook as well as fundamentally inconsistent with their roles as part of the University’s governance structure.

Faculty should make a distinction between academic obligations and work for pay. While students have a right to strike for employment-based work for which they are being paid, they are expected to fulfill their academic requirements, including coursework. Faculty may speak to their graduate students about academic matters. Should you have questions about these matters, please speak to your chair or associate dean.