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Campaign at a glance:
Campaign update: 100% of MTA higher ed locals across the state have endorsed the campaign!
October 22nd, 12-1pm
Multi-Union Meeting at the Cape Cod Lounge (lunch provided!) & Informational Picket
November 20th
Rally at the Statehouse for Fair Wages Now! RSVP today!
It’s time for 30% raises!
Massachusetts is a wealthy state, and Beacon Hill is sitting on billions of dollars we raised through the Fair Share Amendment and are now stashed in reserve accounts. The state can afford the contractual raises necessary for public higher ed workers to earn a thriving wage. Lagging wages mean vacancies go unfilled and workloads rise for the rest of us, threatening to undermine our ability to best serve students. Fair pay is an investment in a high quality system of public higher education.
It’s time for justice!
The workers who make Massachusetts public higher education possible earn significantly less than our peers in other states. Wages fail to keep pace with Massachusetts’ high cost of living, forcing many workers and their families into an economic crisis. We need equitable, thriving wages for all. Dedicated public servants deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.
It’s time to take action!
If you want to change how we are treated – from the bargaining table to Beacon Hill – you need to act. USA endorsed Fair Wages Now! in a 99% yes vote (334 yes, 2 no) with 50% of dues paying members voting–a resounding YES! Now, make a plan to attend the multi-union action at UMass Amherst, Oct 22 and statehouse rally in Boston, Nov 20!
4 Ways to Take Action:
- Talk to your coworkers & make a plan to show up! Explore the FAQ/talking points below.
- Show Up – join your union siblings to raise our voices together.
- On-Campus Picket, Oct 22: RSVP today! (Link will be provided soon!)
- State House Rally, Nov 20: RSVP today!
- Choose the UMass Amherst bus location for a ride out and email usa@umass.edu to request union release time.
- Make your solidarity visible – use the Zoom backgrounds and profile picture below
- Join Organizing Committee to plan events and engage in member outreach related to Fair Wages Now! Email Camille Godbout-Chouinard to join.
It will take ALL of us to get the raises we deserve!
What is Fair Wages NOW!?
Earlier this year, organizers in the MTA’s Higher Education Leadership Council (HELC) across 10 higher ed locals developed a statewide campaign to fight for fair wages. Each step of the campaign was finalized and approved at the 2026 MTA Summer Conference by dozens of rank-and-file higher ed workers and leaders.
The first step of the campaign was to get every higher ed local across the state to endorse this campaign. As of October 5th, 100% of MTA higher ed local have endorsed Fair Wages Now!
MTA Locals Endorsing Fair Wages Now!
What are we demanding?
- Base Salary Increases
- Earning up to $99,999 → Base Increase of $3,000
- Earning between $100,000-$150,000 → Base increase $2,000
- Earning above $151,000 → Base increase $1,000
- 30% over 3 years
- 5% in January
- 5% in July
- Bring everyone up to the MIT Living Wage Calculator
- $25+ Million Earmarked for Salary Adjustment
- Creating or Modifying Salary schedules (steps) for Adjunct and Professional Staff Unions that do not have them or need adjustments
- Long term goals: Public Higher Ed & Parameters
- Changing the structure of parameters to actually work for workers
- Dignified wages and working conditions for all
- Dignified careers in public higher ed for all
- End of austerity and full investment in public higher ed
- Worker-controlled institutions
- Unity in practice (coalition bargaining, shared governance)
To give you a rough idea of just what this transformative wage increase would mean for you, follow this formula:
((Your biweekly salary x 26) + $3,000) x 1.34
For example, a Clerk IV at step 1 currently making $2,004.86 biweekly ($52,126.36 annually) would see their salary increase to about $73,874 over 3 years!
Updates
Member Outreach/FAQ [Under Construction]
What are parameters and who determines them?
Parameters are wage increases determined by the Governor’s office before the next bargaining cycle for all state employees under a collective bargaining agreement. Once the union and management reach a tentative agreement and the union membership ratifies it, the legislature then votes to approve any budget increases. Also known as Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA).
Who is impacted by parameters?
All state employees under a collective bargaining unit. At UMass Amherst, that includes USA, PSU, MSP, GEO and AFSCME. State-wide, that also includes MNA, SEIU, NAGE, and others.
How can the state afford this?
The truth is MA is one of the wealthiest state in the wealthiest country on earth, bringing in over $3B a year in taxing millionaires alone. We know the ultrarich are doing just fine, and frankly, we know this kind of money exists in the state of Massachusetts, we just need the political will to go get it. We know this proposal isn’t cheap, and that’s because you and your coworkers have been subsidizing the cost of quality public higher ed by accepting these low wages for years. But in the wealthiest state in the wealthiest country on earth, don’t you think MA can afford to invest in you and your students? Are you willing to join your coworkers in fighting for what you deserve?
Resources
- MTA Resources
- The Wages & Living Conditions of Educators
- Slideshow from the USA Fair Wages Now! Membership Endorsement vote meeting
- Use one of these Zoom backgrounds in meetings to show solidarity with your union siblings:
(Right-click and save an image, then add it in Zoom or Teams)
