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Classes start on Tuesday, and BU’s graduate workers are still on strike
The graduate student union is hosting a walkout and rally on Marsh Plaza Tuesday during the first day of classes before returning to the bargaining table on Friday.
After a failed bargaining session earlier this month, unionized graduate workers at Boston University will start the fall semester still on strike.
The members of the Boston University Graduate Workers Union, who supervise, grade, and sometimes teach classes, have said they are fighting for a “living wage,” improved healthcare, and cost of living adjustments. Currently, they are paid between $27,000 and $40,000 a year.
As part of SEIU Local 509, they overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike starting March 25 after months of failed negotiations toward the union’s first collective bargaining agreement.
The union went to the bargaining table with BU on Aug. 22 to discuss what the university called its final proposal. According to the university, the package included an annual $45,000 minimum stipend and yearly 3% increases for five years on that stipend for doctoral students.
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In a post on Instagram, the graduate workers union said “the ball is in the university’s court” after the Aug. 22 session didn’t yield a collective bargaining agreement.
In part, the union is fighting for a flexible cost of living adjustment tied to the median Boston area rents with a yearly 7% minimum raise, according to their platform. They are also asking for a minimum annual stipend of $62,440.
“We are prepared to continue our strike into the fall semester until we secure an acceptable deal,” the union said. “We refuse to concede so long as this university still prioritizes profit over education.”
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The union is hosting a walkout and rally on Marsh Plaza Tuesday during the first day of classes, and the union and the university will return to the bargaining table on Friday.
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