Protesters from MIT labor groups gathered Tuesday at the school’s iconic Building 7 and marched down its Infinite Corridor, delivering to the office of president Sally Kornbluth a petition with their contract issues: higher wages, lower health care premiums and job protections for immigrant workers.
Around 130 people rallied, chanted and marched, said Service Employees International Union organizers. The numbers included students and grad students. “The Graduate Student Union is also having a tough time with bargaining,” said Franklin Soults. the union’s regional communications manager.
The speeches included hints of a strike if there wasn’t more progress in talks.
Most of the protesters were from Local 32BJ, representing about 600 facilities workers from custodians, desk attendants and groundskeepers to electricians, plumbers and locksmiths. An MIT electrician and bargaining committee member, James Bradford, stepped aside from the rally briefly to explain their discontent.
“We’re short-handed, that’s our biggest problem,” Bradford said. “We maintain the campus, keep everything up and running and are available when emergencies happen and buildings go down, we lose power or there are leaks. I would think this would be a little more valuable to MIT, and that they’d appreciate us a little more. Going through the whole bargaining process – and this is the first time I’ve done it – it kind of takes the wind right out of your sails.”
The union said it has been negotiating with MIT since May 22 without significant progress.
Graduate Student Union representative Lauren Chua expressed similar frustration during a speech to assembled protesters.
“We have been in negotiations with MIT for months with very little movement until recently, but it has been months and months. MIT came to our bargaining table wanting concessions, wanting takebacks on our health care, on our union shops, instead of giving us fair wages and protections for immigrant workers who are so essential to making MIT run,” Chua said.
Because the school seemed to be dragging out negotiations, the grad students launched a strike pledge Sept. 9 that drew more than 1,250 signers – and that “has started to bring MIT to the table and start actually negotiating in a little better good faith,” Chua said. “It’s still not enough. While they step back on some of the most egregious of the takebacks regarding our health insurance, they still want to come for our union shop [and are] still failing to give us fair wages, and we know they can.”
Before a final speech from an undergraduate representative and a march by protesters into the building, Chua told the members of Local 32BJ that if they want to strike, “we are ready to do that with you.”
A request for comment was sent Tuesday to Sarah Gallop, director of the school’s government and community relations department, but it was not immediately returned.
