The Professional Staff Union reached an agreement Feb. 11 with the UMass Boston Board of Trustees for their 2024-27 contract, more than 19 months after previous contract expired.
The contract was ratified Feb. 19 by PSU members at both the UMass Boston and Amherst campuses. The group, partnered with the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the National Education Association, has been negotiating with the UMass administration since their previous contract expired June 30, 2024.
“This bargaining campaign was the largest in PSU’s history,” the group wrote in a Feb. 12 statement on their website. “More than 600 PSU members attended a bargaining session as a Silent Bargaining Representative, and more than 1,500 took action of some kind. Together, we stood our ground, fought off the UMass administration’s extreme take backs, and made progress in important areas of our contract.”
Agreements were reached shortly after the group’s vote on “No Merit out of COLA.” COLA, or cost-of-living adjustment, serves as a way to compensate employees for inflation. This was a main bargaining point between the previous contract and this one, as UMass had previously suggested that certain employees’ cost-of-living adjustments could be cut in favor of a merit-based system that rewarded some employees over others. In the new contract, the PSU was reportedly able to achieve “full COLA for all” and “retroactive payments for all COLAs during the life of this contract.”
“It was a siege. A defensive battle in many, many ways,” said Tom McClennan, president of the UMass Boston chapter of PSU. “But we recognize the success in that defense: not having … reapportionment schemes that pit employees against each other and would undermine the ability of some of our members to affordably live in the state just to give an extra reward to the chosen few.”
In a Feb. 12 statement to PSU members, the union wrote that benefits for the UMass Boston campus include a “$60,000 salary floor for existing employees, effective Jan. 2027” and “annual longevity bonuses starting at 15 years of service, effective July 2026.” The Amherst campus now has new protocol for work on snow days and during emergencies, as well as a new economic adjustment pool.
While the group is satisfied with these developments, there is still progress to be made for the 2027-30 contract. McClennan stated that a main goal will be increased wages and an easier process to obtain a pay increase.
“It’s perfectly fine to say you work for a university because you love participating in a public university, contributing to Commonwealth knowledge and helping young people fully realize their opportunities, learn and become better citizens, employees, and researchers,” McClennan said. “But you should get paid well for that. You should be able to see that pay go up with your experience, advancement, knowledge, and contribution…that’s where we’ve got to still keep trying.”
The group reported that 99% of those who voted on the Unit A bargaining team voted “yes” on the new contract. It will now go down a chain of bargaining teams and ultimately to Governor Healey and the Massachusetts legislature to request funding.
“We may have taken steps off of this bargaining table, but…the overall goal (is) being able to advance your career and receive more than just a cost of living increase for sticking with UMass,” McClennan said. “That’s what we’re gonna continue to fight for, and it’s gonna rely on all the muscle we built up organizing, mobilizing members, and getting people engaged, interested, and willing to stand up.”
