(UPDATE, April 18: Labor and RISD reached a tentative agreement, Wazlavek tweeted last night.)
The Rhode Island School of Design—famous alumni include Seth MacFarlane, BFA '95 (Family Guy, The Orville)—has lately been embroiled in a labor dispute.
I saw, and heard, protestors yesterday morning when I drove to the nearby Providence Amtrak station. They made plenty of noise, yet in an artsy, celebratory way. You really don't want to mess with creative types. With faculty support, students are demonstrating alongside custodians.
An attorney-alum of my torts and comparative law classes is working on the matter from the Teamsters side. Aaron Wazlavek (SSRN) has been on site this week. (Video NSFW: adult language. That's just how labor rolls.)
Settle the contract @risd. One day longer, one day stronger.
— @voteunion©️2023 | #1u (@voteunion) April 12, 2023
We @Teamsters won’t leave until we get a deal executed for our members.#1u #Organize #OneBigUnion pic.twitter.com/2H3DFT7fuF
According to arts independent Hyperallergic, "[c]urrently, the average wage of a RISD custodian, groundskeeper, or mover is $16.74 per hour. The lowest wage is $15.30. Teamsters Local 251 has fought for a $20 minimum wage ...."
The living wage for one adult with no children in Providence County, Rhode Island, is $17.42/hr., according to the MIT calculator. The minimum wage in Rhode Island is $13/hr.
In March, New York University law students made headlines demanding a choice between credit hours and an hourly wage for work on law review.
The New York students have a point. I've long been critical of unpaid internships. Nowadays, U.S. law schools require free labor in many guises. Call it "field placement," "externship," "pro bono"—even new lawyers are expected to "volunteer" before they can get paying jobs. It's all subversion of the simple principle that one should be paid for one's work. Corporations and employers delight in pushing American work-life balance in the wrong direction. The legal education system and accrediting American Bar Association are complicit.
The set rate for student labor—when we pay in real money; I just hired a research assistant for the fall—at UMass Law in south-coast Massachusetts is $15/hr. The living wage for one adult with no children in Bristol County, Massachusetts, is $17.88, according to the MIT calculator.
Latest reports suggest that RISD and labor will find a middle ground between $15 and $20. I hope it's at least halfway.
