The Jumbo Janitor Alliance (JJA) presented University President Lawrence Bacow with a petition late last month urging the administration to push for better working conditions for Tufts' custodians, but the student group says it is still waiting to see action from university officials.
Over 1,300 people signed the petition, which came as the janitors entered into contract renegotiations with their employer, OneSource/ABM Industries Inc., according to junior and JJA co-chair Kevin Dillon.
The JJA is a fledgling organization aimed at supporting Tufts' janitors, and it is looking to this summer's contract negotiations as an opportunity to garner an increase in janitors' wages and an allocation of more than the three sick days per year custodians are currently allowed.
While the administration has stated that it supports the janitors, Dillon said that the JJA is looking for more concrete action from Tufts during the contract negotiations.
"What the Jumbo Janitor Alliance is advocating is that the administration put leverage on the contractor [OneSource/ABM]," said freshman Will Merrow, a member of the JJA who helped to compile the petition.
According to Vice President of Operations John Roberto, however, the administration will stay out of the negotiations.
"The university is not directly involved as an active participant in the negotiations ... they are between the union and ABM/OneSource," Roberto said. "All of us need to respect the collective bargaining process."
The JJA feels that, as OneSource/ABM's client, the administration could influence how the company treats its workers. "Tufts usually says that they are not responsible for what happens to the janitors because that is ABM's realm, [but] if Tufts was vocal enough, ABM would change conditions for their workers," Dillon said. "It's a 'the customer is always right' mentality."
The current contract between the janitors' union and OneSource/ABM is a four-year agreement that ends this summer.
There has already been one negotiation session between the union - the Service Employees International Union Local 615 - and OneSource/ABM. The meeting, held on April 24, covered general discussion topics about the new contract. The next meeting is scheduled for next week.
"The union will be presenting a list of specific proposals to OneSource. Past negotiations ... have always led to a mutually acceptable contract. They usually reach an agreement in a non-confrontational way," Roberto said.
According to Merrow, Tufts was the first university in the Boston area to outsource its janitors. As a result, he said, the workers' wages plummeted.
Although most students have left campus for the summer, the JJA plans to continue its mission throughout the negotiations.
"It's not coincidental that negotiations are scheduled for summertime ... they purposely do that to minimize student involvement," Dillon said.
"A lot of times, the administration likes to wait out the students so they won't take any action. They know the students will eventually graduate and everything will blow over," he said.
Dillon and JJA Treasurer Max Goldman, a sophomore, will be working for the union throughout the summer, both "on this contract as well as some other janitor contracts that are going on in Boston," Dillon said.
The JJA members said they're hoping to meet with Roberto soon to further discuss the petition and the steps they feel the administration should take.
"Clearly we respect the right of the students to express their opinion. We are going to pay attention to it as it evolves," Roberto said.
As for any immediate changes, "the outlook right now doesn't necessarily look too positive, but we are taking different steps this year that we haven't in the past," Dillon said.
"We are hoping for administration involvement in the process and hoping the administration will be responsible ... and reflect our values of social responsibility," said co-chair Emma Mayerson, a sophomore.
