BU graduate student workers go on strike

Boston University graduate student workers went on strike Monday and vowed to stay off the job until they secure their first labor contract with the university. The strike by the union of nearly 3,000 grad students has caused disruptions to classes and academic programs at Boston’s largest higher education institution, students said. The union, which formed in 2022 and is part of Service Employees International Union Local 509, wants better health care coverage, fair pay, and stronger benefits. “We’re willing to be on strike for however long it takes; we’re willing to be on strike until we win,” said Meiya Sparks Lin, a graduate student in the English department. “We really, really hope it doesn’t come to that because we want to absolutely minimize the disruption to our students.” Grad workers help grade quizzes and teach science lab sessions and supplementary class meetings called discussion sections. Their absence has caused classes and labs to be canceled, several students told The Boston Globe. Grad workers are currently paid stipends between $27,000 to $40,000, according to the union. The university said these wages are for 20 hours of work per week; the grad students said they often work much more than that. They are now asking the school for about a $62,000 stipend, the union said — to which BU said it offered about $42,000 for PhD students on 12-month stipends. The union declined to counteroffer, BU said. “I work 9 to 5, sometimes 10 to 6,” on weekdays, said Sparks Lin. “And I work six to seven hours each weekend day. I took one or two days off this entire year.” — ESHA WALIA