Dear Colleagues,

for those of you who were unable to attend last week’s general membership meeting, I want to provide an update on the status of salary increases and contract negotiations, as well as some information regarding the University’s planned limited operations over the December-New Year holiday period.

Limited Operations

The recent HR Happenings messages have stated that “Staff who take time off during this period will use their accrued time (vacation, personal, and comp time) balances. The use of sick time is not permitted”. 

This prohibition against the use of sick time is not consistent with the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law, M.G.L. c. 149, § l 48C, which permits only limited restrictions by an employer on an employee’s use of their sick time.  The Faculty Federation has been in contact with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office which has confirmed that that an employer cannot restrict the use of sick time in this manner and that any disciplinary action taken against an employee for using their sick time would be in violation of the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law.  

The Federation has requested that HR issue a retraction to the previous messages and to make clear to all University employees that they are permitted to use their sick time to take care of themselves or certain family members, including during the planned limited operations period.

Contract Negotiations & Salary Increases

While we have the parameters for the salary increases (3.5%, 4.5% & 4.5% across the 3-years of the successor agreement) the salary increases are a part of contract negotiations and will happen only when we have concluded negotiations and the membership has ratified the agreement.  Once the President’s Office has also signed, it will go to the State House to be included in a supplemental funding bill.  Our AFT legislative liaison has informed us that the Fall supplemental funding bill is likely to happen sometime in mid-October.  If the Federation or ESU contracts are not in this bill then it almost certain that the salary increases and related retroactive pay will not happen before the end of the year.

The Faculty, Librarian & Technician unit remains at the bargaining table.  The Administration was only available to meet with the Union negotiating team on five occasions (April 4, April 28, May 19, July 29 & August 22) since the first bargaining session (to establish the ground rules) on March 28.  Until the August 22 session, the Administration had provided no responses to any of the proposals presented by the Federation.  The Federation team has been meeting with the Administration every week since the start of the academic year in an effort to finalize these negotiations in time to make the October supplemental budget.   

The ESU also remains at the bargaining table. The ESU informed the administration that we were ready to begin bargaining in July 2024 yet our first meeting to establish ground rules was on November 6, 2024. Since then, we have met with the administration multiple times  (December 9, January 7, January 27, February 24, March 10, April 9, April 22, May 7, May 28, June 16, July 2, July 31, September 9, September 16, September 22) with the next session scheduled for October 2. Until the July 31 session, the administration had not provided responses to many of the key proposals presented by the ESU. The negotiating team is committed to meeting with the administration as often as needed to complete negotiations with the goal of having a tentative agreement to bring to the ESU membership for a ratification vote.

Both the Faculty, Librarian & Technician unit and the ESU have reached agreement with the Administration on several items (including some of the Unions’ proposals and some of the Administration’s proposals) but there are several important proposals from the Unions that the Administration has not responded to thus far. There are also certain proposals from the Administration that they appear to really want both bargaining units to accept, however both the Faculty and ESU negotiating teams have serious reservations about them.

While the bargaining sessions are closed and details cannot be discussed, I want to remind people that some of the items that the Faculty, Librarian & Technician unit’s proposals addressed in these negotiations included: 

Improvements to faculty governance, including explicit oversight of the curriculum in interdisciplinary programs

• Increased compensation for Chairs and Grad Program Directors
• Increases to salary minima and the salary “bump” upon promotion for all ranks
• Expanding bereavement leave and creating personal leave for faculty
• Updating the Librarian Article in the CBA
• Adding PMYR for Professional Technicians
• Some smaller changes that would clean up sections of the CBA

The negotiating teams for the Faculty, Librarian & Technician unit and for ESU are committed to meeting with the Administration whenever and wherever in order to get a tentative agreement that we can bring to the membership for a ratification vote but we will not agree to any proposals from the Administration that we do not believe are in the best interests of the members.

In Solidarity!