Boston University property workers to vote on possible union strike

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32BJ SEIU District 615

Roxana Rivera, director of 32BJ SEIU District 615, recently rallied some of the union's workers at Boston University.

Mary Moore

Reporter- Boston Business Journal

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About 700 property-services workers from Boston University have been encouraged to vote today on whether to strike if their union cannot reach agreement on a new contract with school officials by Oct. 31.

The workers are members of 32BJ SEIU District 615 and include custodians, mail room operators, groundskeepers and skilled trades workers, according to an advisory from the union. They are negotiating on a new four-year contract with university officials. The current contract expires at midnight Friday.

"We are working diligently now with the union and our employees and are confident we will come to agreement on a fair and equitable contract," said a spokesman for BU, reading from a prepared statement.

BU and the union have stalled in the negotiations, said Eugenio Villasant, a spokesman for SEIU Local 615. Though he would not disclose details, Villasant said the union has balked over proposals related to cost-of-living increases and health care benefits.

The union does not want the university to change the health care benefits that workers currently receive, Villasant said. The unionized workers at BU currently pay an average of $400 a month out of pocket for health care, he said.

The strike vote is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Brookline. Villasant said he expects the voting will be wrapped up by 6 p.m.

A voting majority of the 700 workers is needed to authorize the strike, he said. Villasant said the union's goal is to reach agreement with BU officials before the current contract expires.

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