VICTORY!

Yesterday, Monday, August 11, Tufts janitors ratified the tentative agreement reached between SEIU local 615 and American Building Maintenance Industries. This means the janitors now have a new contract that promotes economic justice and respect for Tufts janitors. Here are some of the major details of the new contract:

$0.80 wage increase each year for the next four years (For example, their hourly pay will move from $13.85/hour to $14.65/hour next year). In the fifth year of the contract, their wages will be raised to a dollar above the wages specified in the 2012 janitorial master contract for Boston.

At the end of the last contract, Tufts janitors received 3 sick days per year. By the end of the new contract, they will receive 9 personal days off. Not only is this a 200% increase in days they can take off, but the doctor's note requirement to take time off has been lifted. Now workers can take these days off for any personal reason they deem necessary.

Workers' contribution to the family healthcare plan has been capped for the next 5 years to $100/month. This is a huge win, given the rapidly rising costs of healthcare. Full-time Tufts janitors can insure themselves and their entire immediate family for only $100 each month.

By the end of the new contract, 90% of Tufts janitors will be employed full-time (they are currently at 65% full-time). Not only will this provide crucial benefits to larger portion of the Tufts janitorial staff, but it will also allow these workers to spend more time with their families, as they will not be required to work multiple part-time jobs to support their families any longer.

Thank you to everyone who has helped out during this campaign. Without your support, none of this would have been possible.

Any questions? Feel free to email Kevin.Dillon@tufts.edu or Maxwell.Goldman@tufts.edu

Rally in Support of Tufts Janitors at Medford Campus!

Rally!!

Where: President's House, Tufts University Medford

When: 12 PM, Thursday July 24th

Questions: Email Kevin Dillon, kevin.dillon@tufts.edu

Come stand with the Janitors as they fight for full time work and a just wage increase

Let President Bacow know that the Tufts community wants him to support

the janitors.

I hope to see you all on Thursday

Justice for Tufts Janitors Signs

Thank you to all businesses in the community who have posted a "I support Justice for Tufts Janitors" poster. We appreciate your support. We hope that collectively, these posters will send a powerful message to Tufts University demonstrating that the community cares about Tufts janitors and stands with them as they ask for full-time work and better wages. The posters can be found in businesses in Davis Sqaure, Teele Square, Powderhouse Square, and at the intersection of Boston Avenue and Curtis Street. If you would like a sign for your business, please email Kevin.Dillon@tufts.edu.

Rally in Support of Tufts Janitors in Davis!

This Thursday We will be having an action in Davis square in support of the janitors at Tufts. This rally is also in support of a resolution that the Somerville Board of Aldermen will be hearing in support of the janitors.

Rally!
Thursday July 10th
12:00pm
Davis Square (corner of College Ave and Holland St in Somerville)

I hope to see you all there!

The Cold Facts– Wage and Endowment Comparisons

Here are wage comparisons for janitors of 11 universities within the Boston area. The list includes Babson College, Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis University, Harvard University, Lesley University, MIT, Northeastern University, Simmons College, Suffolk University, and Tufts University. This list includes both part-time and full-time workers’ rates. These rates were compiled from contract agreements between the respective cleaning contractors or universities/colleges and SEIU Local 615, the union that represents building workers. The data also includes the endowment of all 11 universities, collected from various sources.

College	Part/Full-time
		2008
Babson College	PT	n/a
	FT	n/a
Boston College	PT	$19.44
	FT	$19.44
Boston University	PT	$14.66
	FT	$19.54
Brandeis University	PT	$16.14
	FT	$16.14
Harvard University	PT*	$16.75
	FT*	$16.75
Lesley University	Newer	$14.62
	Senior*	$17.34
MIT	PT**	$18.14
	FT**	$18.14
Northeastern U.***	PT	$13.55
	FT	$13.55
Simmons College	PT	$13.65
	FT	$15.97
Suffolk University	PT	n/a
	FT	n/a
Tufts University	PT	$13.85
	FT	$13.85

*In some cases, multiple wage rates existed, so the average out of these rates is given for reasons of simplicity

**MIT rates based on 3-year contracted custodians and in- house custodians

***Northeastern rates taken from Master Contract Agreement

College	Endowment
Babson College	$179,200,000.001
Boston College	$1,750,000,000.002
Boston University	$1,100,000,000.003
Brandeis University	$579,654,431.004
Harvard University	$34,000,000,000.005
Lesley University	$51,709,947.006
MIT	$10,000,000,000.007
Northeastern University***	$612,183,0008
Simmons College	$169,065,000.009
Suffolk University	$104,400,000.0010
Tufts University	$1,500,000,000.0011

In 2006 and 2007, Tufts Janitors were the lowest paid out of the 11 universities. In 2008, Tufts University achieved a modest gain as the second lowest paid janitors with a wage of $13.85, which is far less than the $23.58 living wage for a single parent with a preschool child in Boston.

Even so, Tufts University has the 4^th largest endowment of 1.5 billon dollars. There is obviously an incoherency, especially for a university that prides itself for its “active citizenship.”

As stated before, although Tufts is not directly involved with contract negotiations between SEIU Local 615 and ABM/One source, it holds sole influence in the compensation rates of janitors:

“The clients are in ultimate control of the whole process. Economically speaking, this is known as a being a price-setter, which is a market failure. In a truly competitive market, neither the buyer or seller of a service has control over the price of the service; this price is supposed to be set by the industry. Yet clients such as Tufts actually meet with cleaning contractors to decide on an appropriate price for the cleaning services. These meetings are kept separate from the workers’ contract negotiations, creating major obstacles for workers trying to achieve better compensation and benefits.”

Thus, it is necessary to continually pressure Tufts University’s administration. It’s about time that Tufts removes its façade of active citizenship, withdraw itself as a global leader, and take responsibility by bringing justice to its own community members.

1 http://education.yahoo.com/college/facts/5238.html

2 http://media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2007/12/03/News/Bc.Unveils.1.6.Billion.Strategic.Plan-3132808.shtml

3 http://hostedjobs.openhire.com/epostings/jobs/submit.cfm?fuseaction=dspjob&jobid=238841&company_id=15509&version=1&source= ONLINE&jobOwner=935852&aid=1

4 http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/directory/brief/drglance_2133_brief.php

5 http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/01/24/harvards_endowment_surpasses_34_billion/

6 http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/directory/brief/drglance_2160_brief.php

7 http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/01/24/harvards_endowment_surpasses_34_billion/

8 http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/directory/brief/drglance_2199_brief.php

9 http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/directory/brief/drglance_2208_brief.php

10 http://www.petersons.com/ugchannel/code/instvc.asp?inunid=8880#Facilities

11 http://finance.tufts.edu/treasury/trea_endowpolistat.php

Who's Got the Money

Tufts janitors are at the bargaining table with ABM/One Source, not Tufts University. These workers are employed through a cleaning contractor, not by the university. The Tufts administration has said that it is not responsible for these negotiations and it is improper for it to be involved in the negotiations process (see http://media.www.tuftsdaily.com/media/storage/paper856/news/2004/04/20/News/Custodial.Wage.Negotiation.Protests.Continue-1492379.shtml). This past school year, members of the Jumbo Janitor Alliance met with Tufts University Vice President of Operations John Roberto, who stated, while the administration supports collective bargaining, they cannot get involved in negotiations. So when trying to advocate for Tufts janitors, why target Tufts University and not the cleaning contractor?

Cleaning contractors were born out of drive to cut costs to the bottom line; these contractors provide their clients with a service at the least cost possible. Whenever a contractor offers a price that is above what other contractors are offering, that one company is no longer competitive and therefore loses business. The contractor has essentially no control over what they charge if they wish to stay in business. The industry dictates they charge the lowest amount possible, which means paying the janitors the lowest amount possible, or else the company will go out of business.

As shown through ABM’s recent 2007 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company only made a 1.8% profit off of their total revenue. Out of all the money that this contractor took in from different cleaning contracts, less than 2% was actually considered profit. This outlines the skeleton nature of ABM. The company operates on a bare-minimum basis; they do not take away huge profits each year from their business. ABM informs their investors of the nature of their operations when they explain in their 10-K financial statement, “low cost of entry to the facility services business has led to strongly competitive markets…These strong competitive pressures could inhibit the Company’s success in bidding for profitable business and its ability to increase prices even as costs rise, thereby reducing margins.” Because they don’t take away big profits each year, they do not have the free capital to offer better compensation to their workers. This money must come from the clients.

The clients are in ultimate control of the whole cleaning process. Economically speaking, this is known as a being a price-setter, which is a market failure. In a truly competitive market, neither the buyer or seller of a service has control over the price of the service; this price is supposed to be set by the industry. Yet clients such as Tufts actually meet with cleaning contractors to decide on an appropriate price for the cleaning services. These meetings are kept separate from the workers’ contract negotiations, creating major obstacles for workers trying to achieve better compensation and benefits. In the case of Tufts, the workers’ compensation package will mostly likely already be decided before ABM and Tufts meet to renegotiate a cleaning price. By causing this disconnect, ABM cannot offer to compensate the workers better, since it does not know if it can get more money from Tufts.

This is why it is imperative to target Tufts. As Tufts is the ultimate decision-maker in how much money goes into the cleaning contract, they are the ones who actually set the janitors’ compensation. The cleaning contractor has no power in asking for more money for their workers; if they do, they will simply be replaced by a less-demanding contractor. These companies serve as scapegoats to deflect responsibility from where it should be properly placed. Yet the community has power in this matter, especially in the case of Tufts. A university that prides itself on its commitment to community (see http://www.tufts.edu/talloiresnetwork/?pid=17 and http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/?pid=1) should be held responsible by its community when it falls short of this commitment.

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.