Students at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence walked out today, April 12, in solidarity with caretakers, gardeners and movers, who have been on indefinite leave to hit since Monday, April 3. The strikers, members of Teamsters Local 251entered into contract negotiations with RISD in June 2022 but progress has stalled since February 16 on salary increases.
Over the past two days, the architecture, digital and mediaAnd sculpture departments have all announced their solidarity with the striking Teamsters. Yesterday, April 11, professors in the painting department canceled afternoon classes and held a department-wide meeting where students, faculty, and staff drafted a statement to express their solidarity. Classes were canceled once again today, April 12, and will be canceled again on Friday, April 14.
Earlier this week, students passed around a petition demanding that the school administration negotiate “fairly, honestly and transparently”. The letter insists that RISD respect the increases proposed by the union and provide a reasoning for the rejected proposals. The petition received over 2,400 signatures.
“Seeing students from all grades, BFA, MFA and faculty come together to discuss how to make our solidarity felt by supporting the strike has been invigorating,” said painting student Kara Lee. Hyperallergic. “We know intimately the value of our workers, they are the ones who maintain our facilities, our studios and our homes. We wouldn’t be RISD, or a community, without them.
Currently, the average salary for a caretaker, gardener, or RISD mover is $16.74 per hour. The lowest salary is $15.30. Teamsters Local 251 has fought for a $20 minimum wage, a demand from the union’s secretary-treasurer Matt Taibi described as “extremely popular”.
Indeed, support for the strikers has extended beyond the school campus. On Monday, members of the Providence City Council drafted a letter to the RISD Board and President Crystal Williams to “strongly urge” the school to engage in “honest negotiations”.
“Insisting on receiving a decent wage is not an excessive demand and we support these workers as they exercise their right to organize and strike,” the letter reads.
Teamsters Local 251 has filed three unfair labor practice charges against the school and a federal mediator is now involved in negotiations. The last trading session took place on April 6th.
A school spokesperson said Hyperallergic that the union “once again” made wage demands that “demonstrated an unwillingness to have reasonable discussions with the aim of reaching an agreement”. They added that RISD offered the union a “fair and fiscally responsible offer” in February.
“The union’s response to this offer to date can hardly be considered a counter-proposal,” the spokesperson said.
Taibi said that on April 6, RISD did not respond to the union’s March 18 proposal and instead held firm on its February 16 “final” offer.
“The College has not changed its economic positions for months, while the union has always made proposals in good faith throughout the negotiations,” Taibi said, adding that the college had “shown a tendency towards bad faith”.
“Despite its outward posture of progressivism and diversity, RISD is an institution that was founded and continues to benefit from and perpetuate colonial structures,” reads the painting department statement. “It is sadly typical that RISD refuses to provide living wages to its most crucial employees.”
