Kronos

USA will begin meeting with management over the Kronos timekeeping and location tracking system. The first meeting is June 2nd.

How we got here

Management has tried to implement Kronos for our coworkers in Administration and Finance (A&F) several times, but have been stopped in their tracks because of Article 8, Section 8, paragraph D, that clearly states that “Unit members, except those in Auxiliary Services, shall not be required to swipe under the Kronos system unless all employees in a Department are required to do so.”

How you’ve fought back

Management tried and failed to force changes to this language into our last contract. They even tried to sneak it into our comprehensive proposal at the 11th hour, spurring us to file charges against them at the Department of Labor Relations (DLR) for violating the ground rules. Because of your support, and the support of educators across the state, Management backed off from the worst part of their proposal and instead agreed to bargain over Kronos separately.   

Where we are now

Now, management is insisting that they have a right to implement Kronos, regardless of what your contract says. Your Kronos Team is assembled and ready for fight with you. We will begin meeting with management over the Kronos timekeeping and location tracking system on June 2nd.

How you can take action

To support your coworkers and take a proactive role in the next chapter of this seemingly never-ending story, sign up to be a Silent Bargaining Representative (SBR). If you’ve never served as an SBR before (or just want a refresher), you can learn more about the process on the SBR webpage.  Your presence and support will do more than you know to hold management accountable.

Sign our petition and collect signatures by talking to each other in your departments, buildings, and across campus. Over 300 USA members have signed, but we’re not yet at majority! To collect physical signatures, get in touch with an organizer by emailing usa@umass.edu. An organizer will provide a signature-collecting sheet, talking points, and more info on Action Communicators.

You and your co-workers must band together to show management that USA members overwhelmingly stand against this implementation. If management comes for Administration & Finance (A&F), what is going to stop them from rolling this out for all USA members in the future?

What to know about Kronos

• According to Article 8, Section 8 (page 18) of your contract, “unit members, except those in Auxiliary Services, shall not be required to swipe under the Kronos system unless all employees in a Department are required to do so.”

• Management asserts that “all employees” only refers to USA members in this part of the contract, but the Executive Board argues that “all employees” includes all unions in the department and management’s assertion breaks the USA contract.

• Kronos does not serve a purpose that would help staff with their work or improve their working conditions. It would only lead to more staff surveillance and introduce location-tracking, especially for members who work remotely.

• USA members who already use Kronos to track student workers are familiar with how inefficient and time-consuming the software is. Implementing it for USA will disrupt our work and consume a lot of our time and our supervisors’ time fighting to fix errors to ensure we are paid properly.

• Kronos is owned by UKG, a privately held workforce management software company who recently laid off 950 employees citing AI as the primary reason (Source: Boston Business Journal).

• The largest minority shareholder of UKG is Blackstone, a war profiteering investment firm with significant investments in Israeli software and tech companies. The Research Committee will continue to dig up more information about Kronos and UMass’ ties to it. UMass Lowell recently declared Blackstone a “preferred partner” alongside Raytheon.

Check out this member editorial on Kronos! Click on the image above.