Step 3 Grievance Pushes MIT to Restore Commute Subsidies

The Commute Subsidies article was one of the articles in our contract that our union fought hard for. Many graduate workers commute regularly by bus and train in Cambridge and Boston, so the 70% T-pass subsidy that we won represents money back in the pockets of workers, and a more accessible and equitable campus. However, in the months after contract ratification, many workers found that they were being denied the full 70% subsidy.

The extent of the problem became clear when the MIT administration informed the union that a) not only was the contractual 70% subsidy going to be denied to grad workers who purchase T-passes in-person at the Atlas Service Center in E17, but b) MIT has no intention of reimbursing those workers who had already paid the increased, unsubsidized amount. When we informed MIT in response that this is against the terms of the contract they signed last fall, they stopped corresponding with our union about all T-pass reimbursement issues for months.

We had initially believed that we would be able to settle all T-pass issues informally with the MIT administration, as has been the case for most other issues with contract benefits such as backpay, the $1200 international worker subsidy, and reduced dental insurance premiums. However, by denying the full subsidy to so many workers, MIT admin made it clear that they were more interested in pinching pennies and cutting corners on our contract than providing accessible benefits. The difference between a 50% and 70% T-pass subsidy is a small amount of money to the Institute, but it is significant for graduate workers who have to commute regularly in order to afford living in the Cambridge area year after year.

When we pressed the MIT administration for an explanation on why MIT is denying commuter subsidies, their only justifications were that the T-pass office uses a different computer system, and that they reserve the right to create new and arbitrary restrictions on access to our contract benefits. If we allow MIT to choose when and where our contract is relevant, then every other benefit in the contract is at risk as well. 

Since MIT continued to deny the full subsidy to all graduate workers, we filed a Step 3 class action grievance against MIT. In our contract’s grievance procedure, this is the highest level of response, due to the significant pattern of violation affecting a number of workers. Filing this grievance was part of a strategy of building pressure for MIT admin to resolve these T-pass reimbursement issues with us. If MIT failed to resolve this issue in Step 3, legal arbitration would be the next potential step of the grievance process. 

By the time we got to the grievance meeting in Month, the problem had gotten extensive; we knew of nearly 80 T-pass subsidy violations between contract ratification and March, and many of those who had emailed MIT looking for a solution to their missing subsidy had heard nothing back. In the grievance meeting, MIT argued there was no contract violation – that means that they want to reserve the right to create new caveats, restrictions, and limitations to the access of our contractual benefits.

However, MIT did offer a resolution. At the grievance meeting, they said that they intend to provide full owed reimbursement to RAs, TAs, and fellows who have purchased T-passes since ratification, whether it was an in-person or online purchase. Additionally, they intend to roll out a new process for purchasing T-passes in-person with the 70% subsidy, which involves showing eligibility on the Atlas app to the desk. This means that all eligible in-person T-pass purchases will receive the full subsidy. 

Now, grad workers who are seeking to reclaim their missing reimbursement, whether it was from the spring or fall, online or in-person, can follow this new process. Go to this new form to submit T-pass reimbursement requests to MIT. Requested reimbursements will be processed at the Add Date for the next semester. In addition to filling out this form, also send a note with the details to grievance@mitgsu.org so that we can help keep track and keep MIT accountable for these reimbursements. Please also reach out to grievance@mitgsu.org if you have any questions.

There is a lesson to be learned from this case. What MIT claimed to be a technological impossibility has now been made a priority by the strength of our union and the outpouring of attention towards this case. Our grievance procedure provides us with a means of fighting to protect our rights, but only our collective power can win change on campus.