Student activists are attempting to persuade the administration to reexamine its contract with OneSource, but administrators say the issue of custodial wages is not as simple as slogans and protest chants make it out to be.
The Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM) has drawn attention to the working conditions of Tufts' janitorial staff. The group says janitors do not receive a "living wage" for employees in the Boston area. Chief among SLAM's demands are increased wages, more full-time positions, job security, and improved benefits.
Administrators say they would like to meet students' mandates, but their primary concern is the availability of funds, according to Dean of the University College of Citizenship and Public Service Robert Hollister. Tufts has many demands on its limited resources that Hollister says need to be weighed against SLAM's concerns.
"If the union can negotiate a contract with OneSource that involves an increase in pay, then the question for Tufts is can we pay this higher amount," he said. "The responsible way to do that is to look at the full set of claims on our funds."
At a faculty meeting on Sept. 24, President Larry Bacow, an economist, said he was sympathetic to the needs of Tufts' custodians but that he did not consider the issue a moral dilemma. "For anybody who is getting wages like that, it's difficult to sustain themselves," he said.
"We can define it as a moral issue, but in the end I don't think that's helpful," he added.
It would be no better, Bacow said, if Tufts diverted resources from other needy programs, such as financial aid, and graduate stipends, to increase custodial wages.
SLAM organizer Iris Halpern has often said that the administration is not taking steps to address the custodians' concerns. But according to top officials, the issue is fast becoming a priority. Tufts is "very concerned about the issue," Vice President of Operations John Roberto said. "President Bacow takes this issue seriously. I certainly take the issue seriously."
Hollister said that the administration is giving the issue its full attention. "One of the things that makes me positive that we will find a resolution is that the various administrators have taken the issue so seriously," he said.
According to SLAM members, Tufts can improve its workers' situation by granting job security. That change, they say, would not strain the University budget. Demands for job security stem from previous instances when Tufts changed the company that contracts its workers and did not guarantee that the new company would rehire them. "If we were to consider changing contractors, the issue of job security would be best addressed at the time of the proposals," Roberto said.
With Tufts' ranking in the top ten for campus activism by U,S. News & World Report this year, administrators see the passion on the part of SLAM as an extension of a general commitment to activism. "It's not unusual at a college or university for students to become active in issues," Roberto said. "I think they have the right to express their opinions."
But he cautioned against SLAM pushing too far. "Historically, the university does not give into pressure, but we will respond to reason," he said. "SLAM is doing what they need to do to keep this issue in front of the community."
Hollister said the strength of the SLAM group marks a renewed level of activism among the Tufts community. "The members of SLAM and faculty that support it feel strongly and have research to back up their claims," he said. "I think what they're doing to date is largely positive; providing information, educating themselves and other students, speaking with and finding ways to collaborate with faculty and administration on resource allocation."
Both Hollister and Roberto say they are hopeful that a positive resolution can come to this situation. The decision that comes out of collective bargaining and negotiations between OneSource and the local union officials will play a significant tolr in bringing the situation to a conclusion.
Administrators cautioned anxious students that any changes will take time. In response to the issue, Bacow has asked the Budget and Priorities Committee to review the complaints and author a proposal on a possible reallocation of funds.
"The other piece of the puzzle is that our resources are limited and in one respect they're not," Hollister said. "Expanding revenue is in an option to the extent that if there's things we badly want to do, a second opportunity we have is to generate funds. We have to find the resources or create them," he said.
