By Deborah Place and Kyle Chambers
Every year, the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) brings together union members from school districts and public higher education institutions from across the Commonwealth to attend the MTA Bargaining Summit and Winter Union Skills Conference. This year’s event took place at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, which held a special meaning for the event as the union that represents employees at this hotel had recently ratified their labor contract after a 24 day strike. Among higher ed locals, University Staff Association (USA)’s presence was unmistakable, as the union was well represented by its members at the event.
Several USA members in attendance took classes that count towards earning their MTA Bargaining Certificate, awarded to MTA members who attend an extensive curriculum of courses focusing on developing leadership and organizing skills to build influence in power in bargaining campaigns. By teaching members the fundamentals of grassroots organizing and shifting traditional bargaining strategies to create membership-driven campaigns, the program seeks to modernize collective bargaining practices by sharing current best-practices of locals who won major victories in bargaining. USA Communications Committee chair and Contract Action Team (CAT) co-chair Camille Godbout-Chouinard credits the Bargaining Certificate program with inspiring change within the USA: “The basics I learned there help pave the way for changing USA’s bargaining process to be more transparent [by introducing] silent bargaining representatives.”
New this year for Winter Skills were several events specifically tailored for higher education staff and faculty, one of which being the Higher Education Bargaining Summit. USA Vice President Sheila Gilmour was one of several USA attendees to at the summit, and described the experience fondly: “We talked about some of the differences between our campuses and our roles in our individual workplaces, but most of the discussion centered on our common goals and strategies to win the best possible contracts for our members.”
For the first time, the MTA Winter Skills featured a Next-Generation Leadership course exclusively tailored to higher education, allowing faculty and staff from across the UMass campuses and the Massachusetts Community College Council (MCCC) to exchange ideas, stories, and lessons learned in a guided discussion setting. Tim Pyne, Recording Secretary for USA and one of the attendees of the course, reflected on his experience, saying that the course “offered a welcoming space for facilitated reflection, dialogue, and learning. I felt validated in the work I’ve already been doing and recharged to dig in more.”
USA’s Health and Safety Coordinator, Casey Krone, led a focused workshop titled “Food Insecurity in Our Union”, where both higher education members, K-12 members and MTA retired members shared stories from their locals as they related to the issues of food insecurity among faculty and staff across the commonwealth. In the workshop, Casey pointed to recent survey results, including one such survey where 1/3 of USA members reported experiencing food insecurity, as direct factors in our students’ educations. “We all agreed that we need to continue the discussion so we can figure out what to do next and to help de-stigmatize food insecurity that our members experience,” Krone said.
Next year’s MTA Bargaining Summit and Winter Union Skills Conference will be held at the Sheraton Boston Hotel from January 23-24, 2026, but there are numerous other opportunities throughout the year to attend training sessions through MTA, including right here at UMass Amherst. In addition to online webinar courses, educators and union activists of all experience levels can sign up to attend these events.
MTA Higher Education Conference – March 1st, 2025 – Worcester, MA
MTA Education Support Professional (ESP) Conference – May 2-3, 2025 – Southbridge, MA
MTA Summer Conference – July 27-30, 2025 – UMass Amherst
These events are a great way to network, develop relationships and learn more about how to develop skills for both personal development and for the benefit of your union. For more information, or to request release time from your regular job duties to attend events on behalf of USA, contact the USA office at usa@umass.edu for more information!.
