By Kyle Chambers and the USA Communications Committee
In 2023, labor unions across UMass, including the University Staff Association (USA), prepared to negotiate their next three-year contract with university management. However, Governor Maura Healey opted to instead announce parameters that featured a one-year extension of all state contracts. With this extension of the contract, which expired in June of 2024, USA management agreed to terms on an 8% raise with the one-year extension. All USA members received a 4% raise in July 2023, and a second 4% raise in January 2024.
Labor unions weren’t finished fighting, however. Unions across Massachusetts who had already approved these extensions had to continue fighting for their raises all the way up to Beacon Hill, where Massachusetts state lawmakers stalled on passing Governor Healey’s supplemental budget which would fund these salary increases. It was only after receiving pressure from several of the largest public sector unions in the state that the supplemental budget was approved just before the holidays.
As the one-year extension has officially expired for labor contracts across the University, the unions find themselves once again preparing to meet with management at the bargaining table to iron out their labor contracts for the next three years. In April 2024, the newly re-formed USA Negotiation Team sent a survey to all USA members to find out what they want in their next contract. The survey received 323 responses, about 38% of members. (You can view the results of the survey here.) These responses all indicated various priorities, but highlighted three key issues:
- A lack of respect from university administration;
- Compensation that does not keep up with the cost of living.
- Benefits that seem unfair when compared to those afforded to other unions;
While raises for university employees from the one-year contract extension represented one of the largest one-year increases in pay in recent history, they continue to be dwarfed by higher costs from rising inflation, local cost of living increases, and competition from the private sector.
One result of the survey indicated many employees felt that the University does not do enough to show its employees that they are valued, especially after many of them were deemed essential to continued university operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. This disrespect extends to their paychecks, being both below the rapidly rising cost of living in the local Hadley/Amherst area and being eaten away by rising health insurance costs and the rapidly increasing fees for parking.
“As someone who spends more waking hours at work than anywhere else, it is insulting to have to pay for these things out of pocket because the university has chosen to monetize them. Please find a better way to pay for these expenses than charging staff. It is disrespectful and cheap,” one member answered.
“We shouldn’t have to pay to drive to work in a town that has a poor to limited public transportation system,” wrote another member.
In addition to needing better options for transportation, child care, and career development, respondents to the survey report having to take measures in order to make ends meet. 19.5% of respondents report working at least one additional job, amounting to roughly 1 in 5 members.
The survey also included a question about food insecurity, asking “In the last 12 months, did you or others in your household ever cut the size of your meals or skip meals because there wasn’t enough money for food?” Shockingly, 104 out of the 323 respondents answered “yes” to this question, indicating that food insecurity has been a problem for about one third of responding members. This raises major concerns for USA members and has far-reaching implications for other UMass workers. One-third of USA members reporting experiencing food insecurity over the last year suggests that other UMass workers in unions with a similar pay schedule, such as AFSCME or PSU-B, may also be experiencing this on a significant scale.
USA members also felt it necessary to attain parity with other UMass unions when it comes to benefits. “Classified staff is doing all the work and not compensated properly. Classism is awful on campus!” wrote another member in the survey. This comment was echoed by many respondents, who indicated that the benefit disparities between unions is an unfair metric that does not accurately reflect the balance of work being done across campus.
The results of this survey are even more concerning when USA members are regularly provided with media by the University indicating the University’s clear financial stability championed by management. In the June 25th Quarterly Report, UMass President Marty Meehan noted that “As a public institution, we are firmly committed to ensuring that every dollar invested in UMass – whether from the state appropriation, tuition, or a private donor – has the greatest possible impact. That is why we are so proud to share that our strong bond ratings were reaffirmed by all three independent bond ratings agencies – Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P Global – validating our effective management and strategic planning.” While a strong fiscal outlook stands to support job security across the UMass system, university staff members who face food insecurity and who must take on second jobs to make ends meet would seem to be an accepted sacrifice to that end.
With the start of bargaining officially underway between the University’s management and the University Staff Association, this is an opportunity for management to recognize the issue and act to support their employees while they can still afford to work at UMass Amherst.