Bargaining is taking forever. Though it is surprisingly not the longest bargaining cycle on record, I know we’re all feeling it. The idea of just accepting management’s positions and moving on can sound appealing. I totally get it. I want my COLA adjustment (our annual cost-of-living adjustment, set by the governor), too. However, compromising now would actually put many of our current benefits at risk—on top of risking any chances we have for higher pay and a meaningful future at UMass.
“I often bury my face in my pillow and scream after these sessions.”
The reason I know this is because I have been a silent bargaining representative (SBR) at most of the bargaining sessions for this new contract. And boy, has it opened my eyes to just how little workers’ needs are considered by our great UMass overlords. Each proposal they have brought to the table (when they are prepared enough to bring anything at all) has exposed a calculated strategy to remove the protections we currently have and make us even more vulnerable to very toxic work environments. (You can find more information on what they’ve proposed, as well as our new proposals to stop biased disciplinary actions, support immigrant members, offer childcare assistance, and more, on the PSU website). While I often need to take a long walk around the block or bury my face in my pillow and scream after these sessions, I find refuge in the hilarious, fighting spirit our bargainers bring to the table every time management says something out of line.
In case this helps you, too, I have thoughtfully ranked management’s wildest, spiciest moments here:
No. 1: The time they offered to make COLA adjustments merit-based.
At the beginning of this bargaining season, our bargaining team submitted a well-crafted, carefully vetted, and clear member-approved plan to adjust the salaries of our PSU members to keep up with statewide averages and construct a system that allows for scheduled raises, longevity bumps, and increases for academic accomplishments. You can find out more specifics here. After much hemming and hawing—and flat out gaslighting—management finally verbally rejected our proposal.
“None of us are going to get a raise if management has its way.”
Instead, they offered to take our COLA adjustments (which only rarely keep up with inflation, as I am sure you’ve noticed, and are, in fact, NOT A RAISE) and make them subject to increases or decreases based on the ratings you get on your annual Performance Management Program review. In other words, while none of us are going to get a raise if management has its way, some of us are going to see our COLA docked—which means we will be getting a pay cut. Hope none of you have petty supervisors who take out personal grievances on you during review season—which is exactly the counterargument our bargainers brought up as soon as this was mentioned. Management had no coherent response.
Spicy meter: 🔥
No. 2: The time management told us we deserved better but still wanted to cut vacation hours rollover…you know… for our sake.
Many departments have experienced understaffing as of late. In most cases, that leads to the remaining workers having to take up work the now-vacant positions usually cover, which leads to excessive workloads. The bargaining team identified the various problems PSU members are facing and presented a proposal to protect workers from being forced to take on too much—especially when that extra work goes uncompensated. What typically happens is that extra time you work to cover management’s deliberate decision to understaff the campus, say, five hours a week, gets turned into comp time—or time you can take off when you choose. The problem is that when a campus is understaffed, you can never actually take your comp time. Management is essentially requiring that we volunteer to get the university’s work done! Our solutions (you can see more specifics on slide 6 in this slide deck) include the introduction of workload evaluations to make sure no one is being overworked, coverage plans when vacancies occur, additional compensation for those who do work overtime, and comp-time buyouts for the option to turn those extra accrued hours into cash.
“Management is essentially requiring that we volunteer to get the university’s work done!”
Fellow PSUers gave incredibly moving testimonies on how their workloads were unmanageable, caused them great stress, and led to a decline in their physical and emotional health. Members of the management team (the ones paying attention, that is) looked visibly uncomfortable and tried to sympathize by saying that we should be paid more and treated better—but admitted that no one above them would agree to it.
They then presented their own proposal aimed at cutting the amount of unused vacation hours that roll over at the end of the year as an incentive for us to take our earned time off or lose it, because as they told us, they “really want us to use our hard-earned vacation time to relax.”
But it’s kind of difficult to use your vacation hours when your team is understaffed and your request for time off is rejected…
Spicy meter: 🔥 🔥
No. 3: The time management wanted to privatize the sick leave bank.
One thing I think highlights the supportive nature of our union members is the sick leave bank. You might not know what it is until you need it, so here’s a hypothetical: Let’s say you need more time off for medical care than you have saved up in sick time. Like, you broke your leg on a rock climbing trip (definitely not based on a real-life example) and you think you might need surgery (I’m fine, really). One option is to take unpaid time off. But most of us are living paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford even a single unpaid day of work. This is where the sick bank comes in: every year PSU members deposit thousands of hours in a sick leave bank, which members in need can withdraw from so that they can heal without going bankrupt. I love that we are able to donate hours to each other. I was able to hear the testimonials of how sick leave helped bridge the gap for inadequate parental leave or longer illnesses. I am so proud that it stands as a hallmark for how we take care of each other.
“Management complained they did not have enough control over how the sick bank was used—and by whom.”
Management apparently finds it cumbersome and irritating, because occasionally they have to do administrative work, like sending out a request to union members for more hours of donations when the bank runs low. At the same time, they complained that they did not have enough control or oversight as to how it was used and by whom. (It should be noted that neither control nor oversight of how we take care of each other is actually within their rights).
Instead, they haphazardly threw out to us the possibility of bringing in a separate, private insurance company to create short-term and long-term leave options for which they would be the ultimate deciders. These options would not pay people their full salary while they are on leave. Also, this “proposal,” like most of what they have brought to the table, is half-baked, poorly understood by most of their own team, and not even written down.
Our bargaining team immediately shut it down by saying we would never agree to it.
Spicy Meter: 🔥 🔥 🔥
There were many more spicy moments — too many to include here actually. Multiple Mickey Gallagher* meltdowns, several salty callouts by our bargaining team, and facial expressions of disbelief that speak volumes. If you haven’t been an SBR, you really should sign up to witness first-hand just how disposable management believes every one of us is and how bad the management team is at their jobs. Seriously, your impostor syndrome will disappear. Either way, I hope this gives you a look into the process, how contentious (and patronizing) it has been, and how important it is for us not to lose momentum.
So yeah, this is taking an irritatingly long time but we have to keep fighting for the pay, the security, the dignity, and the workplace protections that every one of us deserves. And the more people we have join in from our union, the faster this will go.
Stay spicy,
Alexis
PS: Want to partake in the spice? Join in on the chat during a bargaining session and play bargaining bingo! Or help us keep track of all the times Brian Harrington** positions himself as an “ally” of ours in the Brian Tries to Be Our Friend count. If you join in person, feel free to play my personally favorite game of trying to make eye contact with ANYONE on the management team. It is impossible.
*Mickey Gallagher is one of the most vocal people on the management bargaining team and currently serves as executive director of labor and employee relations at UMass Boston. She used to work as a higher education Field Representative Organizer for the Massachusetts Teachers Association union but now works against unions in bargaining. She makes $201,502 a year.
**Brian Harrington is the other leading vocal member of the management bargaining team. He is the director of labor relations at UMass Amherst and the chief negotiator for AFSCME, PSU-A, PSU-B, and other UMass Amherst union contracts. He is also responsible for grievances and other employment issues for those groups and all non-unit employees. He makes $164,332 a year.
