As a member of the UMass Labor Coalition that has formed on campus to deal with the staff and faculty contract funding crisis, I would like to thank you for your editorial in the issue of February 20th: “Students, Fight for Unions; Unions, Fight for Students.” As you very correctly pointed out, UMass students have been supporting our struggle. UMass Boston students understand that the treatment of employees and the treatment of students are linked. We agree that the students and the employees must work together to fight for better funding for our university, whether it is for contract funding, better campus budgets, or against fee and tuition increases. We completely believe that we need to fight for student concern. Last year we insisted, for example, that students be represented in the negotiations around the parking fee increases. This year union members are supporting student activities around cutbacks, which will become more critical when the governor’s new budget is released.

As we have stated repeatedly in our various actions this year, Staff and Faculty Working Conditions are Student Learning Conditions. We are committed to working jointly with students on all of the issues that affect us and the future of our university.

Thank you, Elizabeth Mock President, Faculty Staff Union