MIT Police Union Parks a Billboard Truck at Lobby 7 for Family Weekend to Protest a Zero-Raise Offer
Officers working without a contract since July say MIT offered no raise in year one and no guarantees after. The truck displayed the pay of top MIT executives. The union says it does not plan to strike.
The union representing MIT's police officers brought its contract fight to the front door of the Institute this weekend, stationing a mobile LED billboard truck across from Lobby 7 on Massachusetts Avenue as families arrived for MIT's annual Family Weekend, The Tech reported.
The truck, parked on Friday, Oct. 23, displayed imagery criticizing MIT's treatment of its police and listed the salaries and raises of top MIT executives, including President Sally Kornbluth, Executive Vice President and Treasurer Glen Shor and Police Chief John DiFava, according to The Tech. Members of the MIT Police Association handed out flyers at the crosswalk in front of Lobby 7. The union's media consultant, Melissa Sullivan, told The Tech the truck would circle campus on Massachusetts Avenue until 4 p.m. Saturday. The union's lawyer notified MIT 48 hours in advance, in line with Institute rules, the paper reported.
The dispute centers on pay. According to the flyers, as described by The Tech, MIT has offered a three-year contract with no wage increase in the first year and no guaranteed adjustments in the second and third years. The union also cites a projected 11% increase in health care costs. "[The proposal] demonstrates a clear lack of respect for the men and women who protect the MIT community every day," Sullivan wrote in a statement quoted by The Tech.
The two sides have been negotiating since April 6, and officers have been working without a contract since July under the terms of the previous agreement, The Tech reported Oct. 1. In that earlier story, the paper noted that prices in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area rose 3.7% over the year ending in July 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The union has framed the offer against executive pay. "Offering officers a 0% raise while executives receive double-digit increases sends a clear message about whose work MIT values — and whose it does not," the association said in a press release cited by The Tech, which said top executives' raises averaged 16.7%.
MIT administrators have said they must be cautious with budgets and hiring given uncertainty over federal funding, The Tech reported, citing the 8% federal tax on university endowment returns passed by Congress in July 2025 and limited restoration of federal research funding, which have led to cuts across the Institute.
Beyond wages, the union proposed a plan to lower health insurance premiums, which MIT rejected, and is pushing for more officers. The department has 39 officers and three vacancies, and DiFava has committed to filling only one, according to The Tech.
The union has said it does not intend to strike, even without an agreement, but plans more outreach, including possible joint efforts with other campus unions, The Tech reported.
Not yet clear: whether MIT will revise its wage offer, when the next bargaining session is scheduled, and whether the Institute will respond publicly to the executive pay figures on the truck.
