Call Marty Meehan at noon tomorrow Wednesday Sept 4

9/3/2019

Dear Colleague,

Welcome back to all returning members and welcome to UMass to all new faculty and librarians! We will be sending a more comprehensive email with further information on a number of pending issues of concern to our members. In the meantime, we wanted to send you the following time sensitive request:

We need you to call Meehan’s office tomorrow (Wednesday), September 4, at 12 noon!  

The FSU has been impact bargaining the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) with a coalition of unions across the state (see here and here for more).  This coalition is asking that the administration pay the full cost of this benefit (0.75% of your salary). The President’s Office of UMass is insisting on paying only the minimum of what the law stipulates.  After three bargaining sessions, they have not budged.  This means that you will pay 0.375% of your salary, up to $412 of your pay, per year for this benefit.  (Many of our benefitted members who are not serving in the Armed Forces get a better benefit through the paid sick leave and paid parental leave provided for by the contract and so are unlikely to use the benefits provided for by PFMLA.)

We need for you to tell the President’s Office that your 2.5% salary increase should not go towards increased parking fees and this additional tax on your earnings. 

Call President Meehan tomorrow, September 4, at noon at (617) 287-7050. Can’t call at 12:00 noon?  Call anytime, but make sure you call.

Sincerely,

Marlene Kim

FSU President

Professor, Economics

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