Fall 2015 Newsletter

Letter from the President

Fall 2015

Dear Colleagues:

I hope you are having a great semester.  The FSU has been busy.  Here is an update on some important issues. 

Raises:

We finally received our retroactive pay in your last paycheck in October. 

Stronger Together: Unions and Students Ally to Fight Higher Fees

Fall 2015

By Jennifer Berkshire, Union News editor

The message delivered to UMass Board of Trustees on September 16 couldn’t have been clear: fee increases are akin to “digging an ever-deeper well of student debt.” But the messengers weren’t just students. Instead, an alliance of students, faculty and staff, all working together to tell university administrators: “enough.”

Why Be a Member of a Union?

Fall 2015

Marlene Kim, FSU President

What does the FSU do for you?

Nationally, union members have higher wages and greater benefits (especially pensions and health care).  Many non-tenure track faculty across the country, for example, do not have health care benefits and access to the employer’s pension plan, when they are not unionized. 

Unions Fight Health Insurance Increase

Fall 2015

Lorenzo Nencioli, FSU Staff

What Ever Happened to Faculty Governance?

Fall 2015

By Jennifer Berkshire, Union News Editor

A provost vetoes a faculty hiring decision. Faculty are notified via memo that a program will now be housed in their department. A meeting of the Faculty Senate is dominated by administrators.