Members of neighboring communities joined the Tufts Labor Coalition in supporting Tufts dining workers’ demands for summer pay. — Photos courtesy of Tufts Labor Coalition

By Camille Andersen

Tufts Labor Coalition (TLC) held a rally on Friday, July 30, to stand with the Tufts dining workers as they demand the university pay them for the summer months.

TLC is a student organization that works to promote solidarity with all Tufts workers including janitorial staff, facility workers, and dining staff. TLC has events to bring students and workers together and organizes around issues concerning workers.

The rally on Friday was part of the current campaign to get Tufts to pay its dining workers who have not been given an opportunity to work this summer. Over 130 workers have not received summer hours and are unable to collect unemployment due to the university contesting their unemployment requests.

These workers have been left without a paycheck for two months. TLC’s demand is that Tufts pays for the entirety of summer 2021 for dining workers who are not employed since they have been unable to collect unemployment.

Over 80 people attended the rally on Friday including Tufts students, dining workers, Medford and Somerville community members, and elected officials from the area.

The group gathered in front of Dewick-Macphie Dining Center on the Tufts campus. The speakers included one TLC member David Boulet-Gercourt, two dining workers Tricia O’Brien and Christine Tringale, and one community member Marianne Walles who is the co-chair of the Our Revolution Somerville PILOT working group. The rally marched from the dining hall past Tufts’ President Anthony Monaco’s house and ended at Ballou Hall.

Tufts has not responded to TLC or the dining workers yet. Several students and one dining worker are meeting with members of the Tufts administration on Wednesday, August 4, to discuss the issue.