❄️Monday, January 27, 2026❄️
From Minnesota to Massachusetts: ICE Out of Our Cities!
On Sunday, nearly 5,000 unionists and activists across Massachusetts gathered online to hear educators and union presidents Marcia Howard, Marty Fridgen, and Catina Taylor. Leaders who are actively resisting ICE in their schools and communities in Minnesota.
Their message couldn’t be clearer: build resilience, forge micro-connections, and organize in your neighborhood.
Take action immediately (steps from the Rapid Response Webinar):
- Form your micro neighborhood team. Knowing your neighbors is one of the most important things you can do for our democracy.
- Now that you have your team, consider being visible in your neighborhood.
- Join a LUCE hub and plug into the statewide network.
- Call your Senator to tell them to reject the Department of Homeland Security funding bill.
- Contact Governor Healey and your state legislators to demand they act against ICE.
“The evening is part bystander training, part LUCE Hotline fundraiser, and will feature community singing with Show Up Sing Out! During the training, we will learn how to effectively respond to ICE sightings and attempted detentions. As trained bystanders, we will be better equipped to protect and support our neighbors. In addition, organizers will describe how immigrant-led organizations across the state–including Neighbor to Neighbor and Pioneer Valley Workers Center in Western Mass–came together to create the volunteer-staffed LUCE Hotline (617-370-5023) to report suspected ICE sightings.”
Registration is now full for this event. Join the waitlist next Amherst Bystander Training:
Governor Healey wants the Group Insurance Commission (GIC), where our members get their healthcare coverage, to shift millions of dollars of health care costs onto public sector workers and their families.
The GIC has not yet decided, but some of the measures being considered include:
● Increasing your medical deductibles by $250 for individuals or $500 for family plans.
● Increasing co-pays by 50%.
● Eliminating coverage of GLP-1 for weight loss.
Here is what YOU can do:
● Send an email to Governor Maura Healey – All USA members should fill out this Action Network petition! Share your story about how these increases and cuts will impact you and your family. Personalized messages get more attention!
● Attend a GIC listening session – The GIC is hosting three virtual listening sessions on Jan 27 at 12 p.m., Jan 27 at 6 p.m., and Jan 29 at 9 a.m. You NEED to pre-register for one of these sessions ahead of time. Each virtual meeting needs to be packed to send a clear message that GIC members are paying attention and know what they are trying to do.
● Talk to your friends and family and share this information – This is an attack on all public sector workers! If you know firefighters, nurses in public hospitals, or other public employees, everyone and their unions need to join this fight.
USA will be having our yearly elections in the next couple months! This year, you’ll be voting for stewards across all 13 districts, ~16 delegates to the MTA Annual Meeting and 5 delegates for the NEA Representative Assembly.
Any and all dues-paying members are encouraged to nominate themselves or their coworkers for these positions!
The election process is outlined in our constitution, which you can read on our website (Article IX, Page 11).
Additional details and information will be available in upcoming emails. If you’re curious about the positions, please reach out to the USA Office with questions.
Read below to learn more about the MTA Annual Meeting from nine-time delegate Thor Hansen!
“My name is Thor Hansen, I’m the steward for district #1 and nine-time delegate to the MTA’s Annual Meeting. USA is looking for folks who may be interested in running as delegates to this year’s Annual Meeting in May.
Annual Meeting probably isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m a little bit strange in that I enjoy observing and participating in the procedural nitty-gritty that keeps a labor union running. Annual Meeting is a day and a half of grassroots labor and democracy in action. This involves a lot of sitting and listening, and a fair bit of voting. Honestly, it’s not that dissimilar from being a Silent Bargaining Representative for those of you who participated in bargaining over the past year. It’s much less rage inducing than bargaining, so that’s something.
The most important recurring business that’s handled at Annual Meeting is reviewing and approving the coming year’s budget, as well as elections for MTA leadership. Additional new business items are submitted to the body of delegates for consideration every year. And it’s a great chance to hang out with your fellow USA delegates, other higher ed union members, and educators & staff from across the Commonwealth. Hope to see you there!”
Help Wanted! Elections Board & Judiciary Committee
Have you ever thought about volunteering to help build a strong union, but you just don’t feel like you can dedicate the time it deserves? USA is currently looking for volunteers to serve on two crucial committees with low time commitments: our Elections Board and our Judiciary Committee.
ELECTIONS BOARD: We have two vacancies on the Elections Board. To protect the integrity of our elections, no member of or candidate for the Executive Committee, Judiciary, or Steward may serve on the Elections Board. This group meets a few times per year (usually January through March) to plan and conduct elections.
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: The Judiciary provides crucial oversight for union leadership and functions separately and independently of any Union board, council, or committee. No member of the Executive Committee, Stewards Council or Election Board may serve on the Judiciary. This committee meets on an as-needed basis if there are allegations of misconduct or gross negligence
Training and release time is available! Please contact the USA Office if you are interested in serving or nominating one of your coworkers. You can learn more about both committees in our Constitution or by talking to your steward.
📢 Calling all change-makers!
Save the dates for the UMass Amherst Labor Center’s Spring ’26 Zoom Open Houses. Learn about their 3 tracks to earn the premier, exclusively worker-side Master’s of Science in Labor Studies.
January 28 @ 6:00pm
February 11 @ 5:00pm
February 23 @ 7:30pm
(All Eastern Time on Zoom)
❄️ In case you missed it!❄️
Kevin A. Young, Associate Professor of History at UMass Amherst – Besieged From Without, Undermined from Within: How UMass Amherst’s Budgetary Decisions Contradict Its Mission and Weaken Its Defenses Against Hostile Politicians
This email is brought to you by the USA Communications Committee.
If you’re interested in joining, contributing, or have stories to share, please reach out to Deborah Place at dplace@umass.edu
