Yesterday, Tufts custodial employees, students and community members marched from Brown and Brew to Ballou Hall to protest proposed layoffs and changes in custodial employee schedules.
DTZ, the organization that manages Tufts' custodial services, recently proposed 35 layoffs and 56 job changes in order to comply with the university's request to streamline operations.
Tufts Labor Coalition will be hosting a public forum today at 2:30 p.m. in Braker Hall 001 to discuss the situation, at which university administrators will outline their plan for the proposed changes.
This is the second protest to take place this month in response to proposed cuts in janitorial services. On March 10, DTZ employees, students and union representatives marched from Brown and Brew to Tufts Facilities Services on Boston Ave., while Tufts Labor Coalition (TLC) members negotiated the proposed changes with university and DTZ representatives.
Service Employees International Union, which represents the custodial staff, and students from TLC have voiced their opposition to this efficiency plan since the changes in Tufts' contract with DTZ were first announced in late November last semester.
TLC mounted protests and sit-ins in response and signed an agreement with Executive Vice President Patricia Campbell at the end of the fall term. As part of their agreement, administrators agreed to attend an open forum hosted by TLC in the spring semester.
Second protest of DTZ cuts held before TLC public forum
3/26/15 – Medford/Somerville, MA – Tufts' DTZ employees, students and community members march through campus in protest of proposed cuts to custodial staff on Thursday, Mar. 26, 2015. Since early last semester custodial staff have heard rumors from their managers that staff cuts were a possibility. Tufts Labor Coalition, a student group on campus, has since advocated through escalated marches and demonstrations for the central administration to renegotiate their plans. (Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily)
