On Thursday, the Rhode Island School of Design technicians went on strike after months of contract negotiations with the school’s administration. The RISD Technician Union has outlined its contractual requests on their website. In short, the techs would like a restoration of retirement contributions (which were cut significantly in 2009 due to the economic recession), annual wage increases similar to those of RISD faculty members, and external tuition remission (a reimbursement of employees’ children’s higher education tuition costs if their child attends a school other than RISD). Additionally, the techs object to a raise in their healthcare premiums. The school’s administration and the technician’s union have not yet come to a resolution. For more information on the tech strike, read BlogDailyHerald’s post from earlier this week or click here for the RISD Student Alliance’s new website, which acts as a living document and student resource during this time.
Images via Danielle Perelman ’17.