The Boston City Council passed a resolution supporting the professors of the practice at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts on Aug. 6. Negotations for the SMFA PoPs’ first contract began in April 2024. The resolution represents the most recent attempt to address prolonged negotiations and build support for the PoPs.
In May, the Service Employees International Union Local 509, representing the PoPs, filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Tufts over several changes made to the eligibility of department chairs in the bargaining unit and the number of studio departments at SMFA. None of the changes were put to a faculty vote.
“Faculty have reported that bargaining has not been going well, and that Tufts has attempted to silence vocal union members while failing to meaningfully address their concerns,” the resolution reads.
In her address introducing the resolution, Councilor Sharon Durkan explained that the proposal was created to build on existing concerns about Tufts’ role as an employer and negotiating party.
“Unfortunately, Tufts University has refused to come to the bargaining table in good faith to address faculty requests of a modest 4% cost of living increase, along with basic institutional support and manageable workloads,” Durkan said.
In a statement to the Daily, Patrick Collins, Tufts’ director of media relations, explained the reason behind the amount of time taken to negotiate the PoPs’ contract.
“It is not unusual for first-time contracts to take a year or more to bargain,” Collins wrote. “The parties have been bargaining through the summer months, and the University remains committed to bargaining in good faith. At one of its most recent sessions, the University offered to bring in a mediator to help the parties with their negotiations, but the Union declined to engage in mediation at this time.”
The resolution explained some of the conditions that PoPs have encountered while working at SMFA. It stated that student enrollment at SMFA has nearly tripled in recent years, while the number of full-time PoPs has dropped from 40 to 30.
As a result of the high cost-of-living in the Boston area and lack of studio space on the SMFA campus, 12 PoPs live outside of Massachusetts. Thus, the PoPs requested a 4% cost-of-living increase. According to the resolution, Tufts has instead offered the PoPs a 2.75% cost-of-living increase.
Disparities between treatment of SMFA and Medford/Somerville campus professors were also highlighted in the resolution.
“BIPOC and international faculty face additional barriers, including inequitable treatment compared to colleagues on the main campus, and delayed or inconsistent visa support that has left international faculty in precarious legal and employment situations,” the resolution states.
During the meeting, Durkan made note of these disparities, which she believes began after the Tufts-SMFA merger in 2015.
“When Tufts acquired SMFA, a community of independent artists, they promised integration and support,” she said. “Instead, many of these faculty members have served a similar [amount of] time to tenured professors at the main campus, but without any of the corresponding benefits or protections.”
For SMFA PoP Ethan Murrow, this resolution is a meaningful source of recognition amid contract negotiations.
“After so many months of witnessing Tufts telling us that we are not valued in the same way as other faculty on campus (or other comparable faculty at similar institutions), it felt wonderful to be recognized as educators, researchers, and practitioners who deserve to be paid and supported with fairness,” Murrow wrote in a statement to the Daily.
Murrow also noted the role that the SMFA community plays in the greater Boston art scene.
“I was also personally grateful to hear Councilors speak to a need to support the arts broadly in the City and how we as SMFA faculty and working artists stand as a key part of that,” Murrow wrote.
In the August meeting, City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune said that Tufts has an obligation to take care of the PoPs through the new contract.
In a statement to the Daily, SMFA PoP Jeannie Simms reiterated the importance of fair working conditions for PoPs.
“The reputation of an employer is fragile and requires ongoing commitment,” Simms stated. “We hope [Louijeune’s] words and the full resolution send a clear-cut message to Tufts to foster benevolent and fair working conditions at a moment when higher education needs to fortify its workforce and larger mission.”
