The Boston University Graduate Workers Union ratified its first contract with the University today, ending a nearly seven-month-long strike.
As of tomorrow morning, the strike will officially be over and striking graduate students will return to work, according to Ben Krewson, a graduate student in the Math and Statistics Department. The contract was ratified with 87% of the union’s membership voting in favor.
BU was not able to comment in time.
“We as the workers, are the people who make BU a great place to get an education,” Krewson said. “I want [undergraduate students] to know that their skills and what they bring are the things that make the University great.”
Eric Munson, a graduate worker in the Department of Computer Science, said in a press release the new contract is a “culmination of three years of work to raise standards” for graduate workers and their families.
“As a parent, going on strike was not easy for me or my family,” Munson said in the press release. “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.”
The union reached an agreement with BU about return-to-work conditions on Oct. 11, according to a post on the BUGWU Instagram.
The new contract includes articles about increased wages, additional healthcare coverage for dependents, parental leave, commuter benefits and childcare subsidies. The contract will be effective until August 2027.
With the new contract, the minimum annual stipend of a PhD student is $45,000 and minimum hourly wage is $20 per hour, a 70% increase for the union’s lowest-paid workers. For commuting workers, the new contract includes either a 50% subsidized MBTA pass or reimbursement for bike riders.
“I had several friends that were in eight month departments that will now be seeing somewhere between a 60 and 70% raise,” said Krewson. “It’s around a 13% raise for myself, and the MBTA subsidy increasing is an additional raise.”
Krewson also said he was happy for his co-workers with children, who will see a nearly 900% childcare subsidy increase.
BUGWU last rallied during the inauguration of BU President Melissa Gilliam. The union held a “Workers’ Inauguration” with other unionized workers from across the Boston area to show their support for the graduate workers.
The strike began March 25, making it the longest union-authorized strike in the country among university student workers in at least a decade, according to Inside Higher Ed.
“When workers come together to take bold, collective action, they can transform their working conditions,” SEIU 509 President Dave Foley said in a press release. “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.”
BUGWU posted on Instagram yesterday that the union is still fighting for certain articles. These articles include improvements to the student health insurance plan, visa cost remissions and independent fact-checking for discrimination claims.
“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,” Freddy Reiber, a graduate worker in the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences, said in a press release. “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.”
