BU faces two unfair labor charges during graduate student strike

The Boston University Alumni Union claims BU has engaged in multiple unfair labor practices since its strike began in March.

BUGWU organized a campus-wide picket demanding “living wages” and other concessions from its institution. Graduate workers are responsible for various tasks on campus depending on their program, including leading classes on their own, conducting research, and attending conferences on behalf of BU.

Since the strike began on March 25, graduate workers have cited various obstacles to the negotiation process, accusing the institution of offering counter-proposals with what workers consider to be unbearable wages.

Recently, BUGWU claimed that BU was violating fair labor standards. SEIU Local 509 filed two separate unfair labor practice charges against the institution, one on March 26 and the other on April 5.

The university maintains that after an investigation, the accusations of unfair labor practices will be found to be unfounded.

Self-certified hours are not paid, union says

One of the first problems arose when BU required workers to fill out a self-attestation form to report hours worked. Although in most cases administrators have no way of knowing for sure who is striking, pay has been withheld even for students who faithfully document their hours, the union claims.

The union describes this “unilateral” process as intrinsically problematic. BUGWU says the wording of the form means some graduate workers cannot submit their hours without committing fraud.

At one point, according to the union’s statement, an administrator sent an email to students in the medical sciences program with the names and immigration status of workers who had not completed the attestation, thereby publicly revealing a status protected.

According to the union, the institution has not yet met the needs of students who document their hours but do not receive a salary.

Alleged intimidation, harassment, coercion

Beyond the lack of salary, graduate workers also denounce cases of intimidation, surveillance and harassment. Students who post union flyers say they have been hounded by the administration, while some departments (particularly the Center for Computing & Data Sciences) have placed restrictions on flyers in their building, the union says.

Graduate workers also report that their private offices were “searched” for any materials or decorations promoting the union. Others report that some personal items were also confiscated, although the union says the dean of arts and sciences told department heads that the searches would stop.

Classroom Concerns

And as the semester draws to a close, many certified master instructors (those who teach a course entirely on their own) are concerned about the state of their classrooms.

During the strike, BU replaced graduates with other administrators, professors and deans responsible for grading student work. In at least one case, a replacement took place without the dean’s knowledge, the union claims.

Some graduates say they have been removed from their course’s online Blackboard page, while others say they have lost access to the faculty link that allows them to enter final grades.

Graduates say they are upset that, rather than accommodating their demands, the school allows students to be instructed and graded by teachers they don’t know. In some cases, students have received emails stating that they are responsible for grading their own work, according to the union.

The press release also notes that some student work can be deeply personal.

“My class focuses on a sensitive topic, the depiction of rape in Greco-Roman mythology, and we spent weeks in class creating a community where we could talk openly about this topic, a community based on trust,” said said Alicia Matz, teacher. approved qualified instructor.

In an open letter to BU’s dean and president, professors say grading students is not the same as teaching them.

“It will be impossible for this new person to fairly and completely assess the growth of my students at this point and (it) disappoints me to see BU apparently abandoning its mission in an effort to undermine our demands for better working conditions and learning,” said Maggie Boyd, certified worker and reference instructor.

The university declined to respond to the union’s specific allegations, but in a written statement to Boston.com, BU media relations said, “The university has negotiated in good faith with the union throughout this process, and we believe these accusations will be found to be unfounded once they are investigated.

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