Prof. Nicolette Manglos-Weber writes about BU Graduate Workers Union strike in The Christian Century
The following is an excerpt from the article “What’s behind the grad student strike at Boston University?” by Associate Professor of Religion and Society Nicolette Manglos-Weber, published on May 16, 2024 by The Christian Century. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Boston University School of Theology, its employees, faculty, or students.
For the past several weeks, hundreds of graduate student workers at Boston University, where I am on the faculty, have been on strike. The strike follows several years of union organizing—and a much longer history of frustration with the failure of grad worker pay and benefits to keep up with the cost of living.
Given that I work for a theology school and seminary attached to a private university, one might assume that my biggest existential concerns have to do with ideological polarization or church decline. But those are not the things that keep me up at night. Rather, my daily work of teaching, writing, and administration is shaped by worry for the bodily wellbeing of students. They face both the grind of academic pressure and the weight of material poverty. While current discourse focuses on ideological conflict on university campuses, students face more mundane threats as well: threats of creeping exploitation.
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