Negotiations solidifying Tufts' custodial employment contractcontinue alongside an active campaign for higher wages andincreased benefits for janitors on campus.
The current negotiations between OneSource and the ServiceEmployees International Union (SEIU 615) will decide the contractwhich determines wages and benefits for University custodians.
The negotiators include a representative from OneSource as wellas OneSource's lawyer, SEIU 615 representative Dan Nicolai, Tuftssenior and Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM) coordinator ArianaFlores and union stewards from Tufts' Medford, Boston and Graftoncampuses.
According to Nicolai, the key issues under debate are wagerates, family health insurance for full-time workers and healthbenefits for part-time workers.
The University is not involved in these negotiations and theadministration asserts that it would be inappropriate to interferein a contract that does not include them. The final agreement,however, must be satisfactory to Tufts before OneSource and theUniversity sign their own contract later this year.
"Even though the University is not physically at the table, it'sstructuring the entire environment," Flores said. "OneSource needsto make a profit, adhere to the language in the contract that theyhave agreed to after negotiations with the union, but still save[the University] enough money so that the University will keepthem."
Those involved in the negotiations say that limited progress hasbeen made so far. "They come up with something, but it's not whatwe want," Irlanda Castillo, a union steward who has worked as acustodian at Tufts for seven years, said. "It is sometimesfrustrating, because we ask for things that we really need, and[OneSource] says 'Tufts doesn't give us enough money to pay youmore.'"
The previous contract negotiated with OneSource in 2001represented gains for workers: wages increased from between $8 to$10 per hour to $11.45, and parity was reached between full-timeand part-time workers.
Janitors currently have no sick days, Vice President ofOperations John Roberto said, but in previous negotiations Tuftspledged to match whatever sick day policy the master contractstipulated. According to that contract, beginning on Jan. 1, 2005,janitors will have one sick day per year, and beginning on Jan. 1,2006, they will have two.
OneSource also supplies each full time employee $300 monthly toput towards the individual union health plan for insurance, whichis provided by the Taft-Hartley Fund through the SEIU 615.Similarly, as of Jan. 1, 2004, custodians received an additional$40 to contribute to family health coverage.
Janitors and their advocates, however, say these increases wereinadequate.
SLAM and SEIU 615 worked to gather a list of stipulations forthe University to demand from OneSource in their contract,including a higher salary based on a living wage rate, healthinsurance and sick days.
According to Flores, Tufts administration declined to acceptthese stipulations or present them to OneSource, disputed thestipulation's living wage calculation, and declined to offer astatement regarding a standard of wages or benefits.
Even if Tufts did stipulate certain conditions for the contract,Roberto reasoned that the union would not agree to these terms butwould continue to push for higher wages and greater benefits.
Roberto emphasized that in the previous collective bargainingprocess, neither party received all of the concessions they wouldideally want, but "they did negotiate an agreement mutuallyacceptable to both parties." Roberto said that he had not been partof any negotiations.
OneSource officials declined to comment until the final contracthas been agreed to, and the Daily was not permitted to attend asession of negotiations.
Roberto noted that while Tufts' wages are lower than those ofother area universities, they are higher than those of the mastercontract, an agreement negotiated for custodial workers in thegreater Boston area, which pays a starting wage of $10.95 forfull-time work.
"We think that the market defines need, including people at theuniversities," Roberto said. "SLAM and the union would prefer thatwe compare at the university level. But we're comfortable comparingourselves to the broader market."
Economics lecturer Siddiq Abdullah explained that the marketwage for janitorial work applies to all janitors, not solelyjanitors in universities. If university janitors are paid more,"the employer is giving part of his profits to keep his workershappy."
Larry Rickman, Professor of Operations Management at BostonCollege (BC), said that BC has a strong long-term commitment to itscustodians, who earn $16.66 an hour, the second highest wage forcustodians at any university in the Boston area. "When you haveyour own employees [there are chances] for more commitment and moreloyalty -- they really care. This is an area where [BCadministrators] haven't wanted to save money."
Currently, part-time OneSource workers receive no healthinsurance, and many part-time workers have been waiting "3 to 4years" for a full time position so they can receive benefits,according to Castillo. Other part time workers, Roberto said,appreciate the part-time position at Tufts that allows them to workextra hours outside of a full-time job.
Tufts began outsourcing its labor in 1994 to improve efficiencyand cut costs, and contracted with the UNICCO company. Tuftschanged its contractor to OneSource, then called ISS, in 1997.Former University President John DiBiaggio told the Daily in 2001that outsourcing saved the University nearly a million dollarsannually.
"[Tufts] does have scarce resources, and decisions need toreflect University priorities," Roberto said.
SLAM members say that janitors should be a university priority."When they are selling the school to prospective and currentstudents, parents, media, and alumni, [Tufts] claims that everyresource available is here for our students," senior SLAM memberMike Pollak said. "They claim to be a wealthy and thrivinguniversity. But when it comes to paying their workers, they claimpoverty and wash their hands of the situation."
President Bacow declined to comment on the issue of the contractnegotiation, deferring to Roberto's testimony.
"[Tufts] recognizes our jobs, because the places are clean,"Castillo said. "But they don't see us."
