by Patty Shillington
Hannah Bernhard and Aliza Micelotta, colleagues in Student Success, had union blood running in their veins long before they decided to get seriously involved in PSU affairs – and successfully encouraged their co-workers to actively join the team, as well.
“My parents were huge union supporters,” says Hannah, who has worked at UMass Amherst for more than five years. “They were both public school teachers in the city of Hartford, so I knew a lot about the benefits and protections of being in a union. One of the reasons I took this job was because of it being unionized.”
“My dad was a mail carrier and heavily involved in the union for the post office as a union steward, so I grew up with the knowledge that unions are really important for workers,” adds Aliza, a 2015 graduate of UMass Amherst.
Along with their PSU delegate Carley Paleologopoulos in Student Success, who received crucial support from union leaders when she was a residence director living on campus during the terrifying pandemic shutdown, Hannah and Aliza encountered experiences as UMass workers that highlight the importance of union representation and membership involvement.
After more than 100 students were arrested during a pro-Palestine protest last year, Aliza and many others followed the call of the PSU to send an email to UMass leaders objecting to the treatment of the protestors. “High-level administrators saw my email and spoke to me about it in a way that felt like they were silencing my support of students,” says Aliza, who was asked by one manager if she thought sending the email aligned with her career goals. “I was angry and also a little scared.”
Aliza turned first to Carley, who offered support and got her to the PSU leaders in a position to help her. They assured Aliza that she was well within her rights to express her opinions and that administrators were clearly out of line and not allowed to intimidate workers like that. “The dual experience of feeling like I was being silenced by UMass administration and management and then being so supported by the union really felt supportive and empowering,” Aliza says. “So when we went into bargaining and the opportunity to be a silent bargaining representative [SBR] was presented to us, I was like, hell yeah, I want to be involved with this.”
SBRs attend Zoom-based bargaining sessions between PSU leaders and management as silent members of the union’s bargaining team. They do not speak and their cameras are off, but their presence sends a message that PSU members are unified, actively interested in their contract and closely following the negotiations. The SBRs then return to their workplace and share their first-hand accounts with co-workers.
In addition to attending numerous sessions as an SBR, Aliza also has testified at a bargaining session in support of flexible work agreements.
Hannah similarly began “kicking into overdrive” her personal and union activism last year, culminating in her role as a chant leader at the recent PSU wages rally, which got her featured in media coverage of the event.
Her involvement with PSU began out of desperation, then grew into empowerment and leadership. Facing medical debt and realizing her paycheck did not come close to supporting her financial needs, Hannah became an SBR and also testified at contract negotiations in support of PSU’s wage increase proposals.
“We shared personal stories, putting our bleeding hearts on the table, to try to get management to realize we need this money,” says Hannah, who also spoke out about the administration’s handling of student protesters and the veiled threats Aliza received.
Appreciating the way Carley as PSU delegate was keeping the Student Success workers informed about PSU activities, Hannah joined the Contract Action Team, also known as the Organizing Committee. “When the role of contract action communicator was presented, I was like, well, sweet, I can help Carley spread this information and do more one-on-one conversations. And wherever PSU needs help, I help.”
In the spring of 2022, shortly after moving to Student Success, Carley took on the role of delegate, in no small part because of the sense of community she felt when PSU members supported her during the first year of the pandemic.
“I was trying to get on my feet as a delegate and share information but it turned into a conversation because of people like Aliza and Hannah. And so again, what felt informational at first became community building,” Carley says.
Now, many of the 10 PSU members in Student Success have become SBRs, given testimony at contract negotiations, or are otherwise engaged in union activities.
Carley gives credit to Hannah and Aliza for stepping up and serving as examples of how union involvement can benefit all. And their hard work and dedication has led to an unexpected lagniappe – a burgeoning workplace community that transcends union action and feels like social hour.
“This community that we are building has led to other conversations about work-life in our unit and beyond,” Hannah says. “How can we support each other through challenges at work and broader things happening in the world? We make jokes, we have snacks, we get to know people better. We’re doing good work, while we’re also having fun.”
