A journey through Reyes’s fraught track record of union negotiations By Daegan Miller The union was bargaining for transformative pay, full staffing, job security, protection from unfair and biased discipline, and better benefits, but contract negotiations were bogged down. Union members were getting restless. Management was dragging their heels, and their bargaining team seemed underprepared, […]
Alexis’s Top Three Spiciest Moments in Bargaining 2024–25
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 […]
Biased Discipline at UMass, And Our Plan to End It
This past summer, PSU Grievance Officer Lori Peterson wrote to members about a troubling trend in employee discipline at UMass. Peterson enlisted the help of our PSU data team to analyze the situation. They found, relative to their white counterparts, BIPOC PSU members were more likely to report being bullied or harassed by management during the […]
Let Them Eat Lobsters
By Alexis Ali Contract bargaining is in full swing for both units of PSU. If you have been one of the silent bargaining representatives present for Unit A bargaining or a testifier for Unit B bargaining, you already know just how condescending and invalidating Management’s position has been regarding our salaries, working conditions, employee benefits, […]
Massachusetts Educator Unions Have Been on Strike—What You Need To Know
By Daegan Miller “Strike!” It’s a word that sends shivers of hope and fear up and down spines: one of the most powerful tools in labor’s toolbox, a strike can win an otherwise unwinnable fight and is the bane of bosses everywhere—but if not done deliberately, a strike can make a union look unprepared and […]
