What do we want?

Here is a rundown of why what the janitors are asking for is so important. Their major demands are higher wages, more hours, affordable healthcare and full time work.

I.Wages and Hours

As energy prices drastically rise, and coupled with the inflation our country now faces, the workers at Tufts must earn more money in order to make ends meet. Yet, while these workers are struggling to support their families, a recent study by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center shows the opposite is true of higher income families. In their report The Growing Gap: Income Inequality in Massachusetts, they found that over the past two decades, the top fifth of income earners in the state saw a 77% increase in annual income, while the lowest fifth saw only a 16% increase in the annual income. Our country was a nation founded on principles of equality, yet our state contradicts this message as the rich get richer and the poor stay poor. These rising costs are a burden that the janitors at Tufts cannot bear, and that is why we ask for higher wages and more hours so the workers will be able to support their families.

II. Affordable Healthcare

Massachusetts recently passed a bill requiring all residents of the state to have health insurance. While this initiative is a noble effort, it remains under-funded and overburdened. Institutions with the resources to do so have an obligation to provide their workers with critical health coverage, both to protect these workers in a time when health care costs are astronomical and when the state is unable to adequately provide health care for all residents. Tufts should do its part and make sure that the janitors have adequate and accessible healthcare.

III. Full Time Work

Many janitors working at Tufts are only offered part-time work. While this may allow increased flexibility in the day-to-day cleaning operations of the various campuses, it comes at an extremely heavy price to the workers. Part-time workers are not eligible for benefits, and are therefore barred from critical healthcare coverage and a pension plan for their retirement. Furthermore, these workers are forced to take other part-time jobs in order to support their families, forcing them to work day and night and robbing them of precious time to spend with their loved ones. As family is one of the most essential and basic units of our society, we ask that Tufts accomodate full time work on all of their campuses.