Rally At Tufts Demands Summer Pay For Out-Of-Work Dining Staff

MEDFORD, MA — Students at Tufts University joined food service workers and residents of Medford and Somerville Friday in demanding continued pay for out-of-work dining staff. The rally, organized by the student-led Tufts Labor Coalition, called on the school to pay furloughed workers during the summer or allow them to collect unemployment insurance until the fall semester.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the university cut its dining staff by more than 130 employees, the coalition said. Many of those workers sought to collect unemployment insurance, but their claims were denied.

"So that means catering had to close, that means retail closed, that means central kitchen closed," Tricia O'Brien, a Tufts dining worker and shop steward for UNITE HERE Local 26, said. "And the bakery department closed — which is always open in the summertime — the bakers have been working there for 40 years, and they have no job for them."

Advocates for the workers say the university has blocked those claims, violating a memorandum of agreement negotiated in 2020 that would allow workers to be eligible for unemployment once the academic year ended.

But Tufts maintains it does not determine eligibility for unemployment benefits. Patrick Collins, a spokesperson for the university, said unemployment law typically denies claims if workers employed during the academic year are given a "reasonable assurance" they can return next semester.

Collins said there were 28 open positions this summer, which 49 employees were hired to fill at various points. Of 180 employees, 131 are on summer leave.

Collins further denied there were any layoffs, saying a collective bargaining agreement reached between the university and workers' union considers all dining staff academic year employees. Those who are not working this summer have a "reasonable expectation" of returning this fall, he said.

"Dining employees are important members of the Tufts community, and we appreciate their work to cook and serve food to our students, faculty, and staff," Collins wrote in an email. "Furthermore, Tufts remains committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in its mission, and has taken significant actions in support of those priorities."