On any given Saturday at 6 a.m., one can find an interesting mix of janitorial staff, union representatives and concerned students in the basement of Dodge Hall. Usually, these meetings are brief but fiery – the janitors voice their concerns to the union representatives and the students, who in turn make attempts at redressing these grievances.

These meetings have been happening at least once a month for two years now. Much has changed in that time: tuition has gone up, Northeastern has climbed in the US News and World Report ranking, and a new president has come along. In addition, a new master contract has been settled between Service Employees International Union Local 615, the janitors’ union and Consolidated Services Corporation, the company through which Northeastern has contracted these workers.

One thing remains unchanged, though: little has been done to address the grievous workplace issues faced by the 125 or so custodians that keep Northeastern clean and orderly. While the master contract increased their pay a meager 30 cents an hour, they are still among the lowest paid custodians at a Boston institute of higher education.

Also, this new master contract did not address the janitors’ lack of healthcare benefits, sick days, vacation time and a host of problems more localized to the university. These include, but are not limited to, the omission of safety and hazardous materials training, the lack of adequate and simple safety gear like masks and gloves and the use of old or even malfunctioning equipment. No employee should have to perform under these conditions, particularly those who are already underpaid. A brief conversation with any of these janitors will confirm that many of them are forced to work two or even three jobs to support their families, some of whom are in different countries.

Since Northeastern contracts these workers from a third party, it may appear that little can be done by the university or its students. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Northeastern administration has the ability and power to pressure Consolidated Services Corporation into providing the custodial staff with better working conditions. It also has the ability to do what Boston University, Boston College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and others have done, and write an addendum to the master contract providing for the specific needs of the university. At all of these schools, the staff makes more per hour than Northeastern’s janitors.

And at most of these schools the full- and part-time staff have healthcare benefits.

It is up to the students of Northeastern to be informed and active on this issue. They can get the Northeastern administration to move forward from the back of the negotiating table. They can pave the way for the financial compensation for this school’s hardworking custodial staff. Where can they begin? They can talk to their professors and Student Government Association senators. Most importantly, though, they can sign the petition online at www.petitiononline.com/j4nuj/petition, or the paper version circulating among student groups, and get others to sign as well.

– Peter Franklin is a middler English and modern languages major and a member of the Progressive Student Alliance.