Schools

Bentley Spokesperson: School Has Reached an Agreement With Union

Update: There will be no protest on Monday, a Bentley spokesperson told Patch.

WALTHAM, MA – A protest planned for Bentley University's Center for Business Ethics 40th Anniversary Conference and Gala Monday over allegations of ethical deficiencies in the school's treatment of adjunct professors will not be held as both sides have come to an agreement, a spokesperson from Bentley University said.

Michele Walsh, director of news and communications at Bentley University, said in an email that an agreement between the union and the school was reached during mediation.

“We have been in good faith negotiations and mediation with the union and have reached an agreement, which will need to be ratified by the union," Walsh said in an emailed statement. "We are pleased to have this settled so we can all move forward.”

Find out what's happening in Walthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

More than 100 faculty and community allies, including Rep. Tom Stanley, planned to gather on the Conference Center lawn Monday for the demonstration.

In addition to the wage battle, protestors cited unstable course schedules as hindering the educational experience at Bentley.

Find out what's happening in Walthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Service Employees International Union Local 509 said in a press release that from 2012 to 2014 Bentley tuition increased by 4 percent, administrative overhead rose 14 percent and the university's endowment grew by 16 percent, yet spending on student instruction remained static - statistics that Walsh refuted as "not accurate."

Photo By Daderot [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons


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