Boston University graduate workers voted by an overwhelming 87% to ratify their first union contract, marking the end of a nearly seven-month long strike.
The graduate workers, represented by SEIU Local 509, initiated the strike following eight months of stalled negotiations with BU. Throughout the strike – the longest union-authorized work stoppage among U.S. university student employees in at least a decade – workers have focused on essential issues such as fair wages, an expansion of health care and child care benefits, and protections at work.
Key wins in the contract include:
- Increased wages – the unit’s lowest-paid PhD workers will be receiving around a 70% raise
- Minimum PhD annual stipend rate is $45,000 with the elimination of pay tier
- Minimum hourly wage of $20/hour
- Annual adjustment of 3% in each year of the three year contract
- Expansions of health care coverage
- Workers can add dependents under age of six to their plans at no cost
- Access to subsidized dental insurance for PhDs
- Childcare subsidies to support graduate workers with families
- Parental leave – stipended workers are eligible for 14 weeks of paid leave for childbirth or adoption
- Commuter benefits including the option of a 50% subsidized MBTA pass or reimbursement for bike commuters
- Transition funding to financially support graduate workers who seek to relocate from worksites on campus
- A $200k emergency fund
“This contract fight highlights the true power of unions. When workers come together to take bold, collective action, they can transform their working conditions,” said Dave Foley, SEIU 509
President. “We are incredibly proud of our members for holding the line – their tenacity and solidarity sustained them through nearly seven months of striking, and ultimately secured a contract that sets a strong foundation for the future.”
Throughout their contract campaign, workers organized a series of actions, including rallies, marches on the boss, teach-ins, and picketing that garnered community support. Notably, many BU undergraduates and elected officials supported the strike, calling on the university to settle a contract and bring workers back to the classroom. Other local unionized workers also refused to cross the picket line as a demonstration of solidarity.
“I’m really proud of the organizing work my co-workers and the union did. We stood strong and had each other’s backs in what I think is the longest graduate worker strike in at least a decade,” said Freddy Reiber, a graduate worker in the Data Science department. “We’ve won significant improvements in our wages and benefits, and that was only possible because of the strength of our membership and the support from the labor community. Of course, the fight isn’t over. We’ve got a solid foundation and are already thinking about the next contract so that we can help create a more equitable BU.”
“As a parent, going on strike was not easy for me or my family. But my co-workers and I understood that taking collective action was our only option to ensure that future graduate workers would have more support for themselves and their families while pursuing their academic careers,” said Eric Munson, a graduate worker in the Computer Science department. “From the beginning of our campaign to form a union, the university has tried to intimidate and divide us. This contract is the culmination of three years of work to raise standards for graduate workers and our families. Going on strike was the only way to force the university to make any investment in the 3,000 graduate workers who maintain BU’s world class reputation—and we will continue to build on these wins for our future co-workers.”
The contract will be effective until August 2027.
