Bargaining Update and Action – Join us Thursday

9/9/2024

Dear FSU Members,

Welcome back. Unfortunately, we wish we had better news to start the semester. The administration continues to undermine and obstruct the contract negotiations for all the UMass Boston unions.   Details below, but please join members from all the campus unions at the Fall Convocation this Thursday morning to hand out flyers to request fair and immediate bargaining– 10:30 am right outside the Campus Center Ballroom.

The campus unions - CSU, FSU, GEO, and PSU - are negotiating separate contracts but uniting to ensure a more open and transparent bargaining process that involves our members as much as possible.    

Administration appears unwilling to move forward in anything resembling a productive manner – resisting all efforts to make bargaining open, transparent, and more democratic.  It has gotten so bad, that they appear uninterested in bargaining at all, given they have so much trouble doing simple things like agreeing to meeting dates, showing up prepared when we do meet, allowing union members to attend the sessions, and collectively working towards an agreement that strengthens UMass Boston. All the unions are experiencing similar resistance and disrespect.

These management tactics undermine negotiations on substantive matters while simultaneously delaying bargaining to such an extent that they may delay the pay raises that the governor has already set, effective January 2025.  

Please show your support for all the campus unions rights to a transparent, democratic bargaining process by joining us at Fall Convocation at 10:30 am right outside the Campus Center Ballrooms (flyers attached here and here, but will be provided on Thursday). We will be there to encourage our university leadership to come to the table, to bargain transparently and in good faith, and to seek fair and swift agreements that serve our entire campus community.

Also, MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The FSU has our first face-to-face bargaining session with Admin on Thursday, Sept 19, 12:30-2:00pm. 

Please join us for bargaining by registering: (contact the CBT for registration info).

Sincerely,

The FSU Core Bargaining Team

Caroline Coscia, Senior Lecturer II, Political Science

Ellen Frank, Senior Lecturer II, Economics

Keith Jones, Lecturer, Africana Studies

Maria Hegbloom, MTA Field Representative

Jessica Holden, Librarian IV, Healey Library

Lorenzo Nencioli, FSU Senior Staff Member

Jason Rodriquez, Associate Professor, Sociology

Heike Schotten, Professor, Political Science

Steve Striffler, Professor, Labor Studies